Motorcyclist left paralysed sues two schoolgirls

[Littlepeahead]

From last night's Evening Standard. It will be interesting to see how this one develops.

"A motorcyclist left paralysed after two schoolgirls stepped into his path is suing them for more than £300,000.

Dennis Porter, 60, swerved to avoid Charlotte Humphries and Gemma McMillan when they walked into moving traffic on their way home from school in Hackbridge, Wallington, in 2008.

He fell from his bike and was run over by an oncoming Ford Transit. He is now quadriplegic.

Mr Porter, from Wimbledon who was riding a Suzuki SV650 bike, claims that the girls were guilty of negligence.

He is seeking damages and loss of earnings. A writ issued in the High Court said: "The defendants suddenly and without warning emerged from between slow-moving traffic."

Miss Humphries and Miss McMillan, now both 19, had just got off the 151 bus on June 30, 2008.

Mr Porter - whose "intellect and cognitive function" have remained intact - has been married to wife Hazel, 57, for 34 years. They have two adult children and one young grandson.

Neil Rees, his solicitor from BikeLawyer, said: "Mr Porter's heroic action has left him quadriplegic and he will be reliant upon the care of his family and others for the rest of his life.""

Hope he succeeds.

Ste.

Me too. Increasingly I wish they had similar anti-jaywalking laws as they do in the US and Canada. Cross where there's a goddamn crossing!

[SoulKiss]

Saw a guy dancing about trying to cross what is essentially a Dual Carriageway in layout just 10 feet from a zebra crossing this morning...

See it all the time, there is a school right near my work and kids will use the crossing but not push he button so traffic does not stop or as soulkiss says cross 10ft away from it and just run out in moving traffic. Ridiculous.

Originally Posted by slark01

Hope he succeeds.

Ste.

Had they been adults I would agree, and whilst yes they should have known better, I am not particularly sure we should be suing juveniles...(and yes I realise they are now legally adults but they were children in they eyes of the law at the time of the incident)..

What chance has he got of two 19 year old girls being able to pay him back £300,000?!?! They won't be able to pay it at any decent rate!

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by Milky Bar Kid

What chance has he got of two 19 year old girls being able to pay him back £300,000?!?! They won't be able to pay it at any decent rate!

Legal liability cover included in their parents Home Insurance maybe? Its sometimes automatically included, so no-one knows they have it, minimum cover is usually about £1,000,000.

Eh?! How the hell does your home insurance cover you for walking out infront of a biker causing him to get injured?!

[timwilky]

I instantly thought about legal cover on home insurance when I read this.

The guy has been left severely injured as a result of the negligence of these two girls. He needs the damages to fund his continuing care and welfare. It is no different that you would hold a dog owner responsible if it ran out and caused the injuries. So the girls parents should bear the responsibility for allowing them unsupervised to cause such horrific injuries.

I wish him the best of luck.

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by Milky Bar Kid

Eh?! How the hell does your home insurance cover you for walking out infront of a biker causing him to get injured?!

From an AXA policy document (found on web, may not be current or accurate, but seems to ring true from when I used to work in Insurance.

Originally Posted by Policy Documentation

"we will cover all amounts that you are legally responsible to pay as damages for:
a - bodily injury (inc death or disease) to any person, or loss or
b - loss or damage to property which happens anywhere in the world during the period of insurance"