Justice for Cyclist hit by Dangerous DriverVictim of Dangerous Driving after Road Rage incident
Kevin O’Sullivan, Partner and Head of the Cycling Injuries Department at our Wood Green office, has been acting for Dr Graham Were.
Graham was a cyclist who was knocked off his bicycle by an angry motorist, who was chasing a motorcyclist at the time of the accident, as a result of an earlier road rage incident.
Kevin was instructed to pursue the claim for injuries, but, as always, kept an eye on whether any criminal proceedings were being taken against the motorist.
The initial approach of the police was to simply send the motorist on a driver improvement course - a common way in which many casers are dealt with. Whilst this is helpful in establishing liability against the motorist, Kevin felt that it was not anything approaching justice in this case, since the driver’s conduct at the time of the accident reflected far greater liability.
Kevin obtained several witness statements from witnesses who confirmed that they had to chase after the driver to bring her back to the scene after she had knocked the cyclist over, and even then, she was aggressive and confrontational.
Kevin was careful to ensure that any representations he made to the police were made within six months of the accident date, because once this statutory time limit of six months passes, the police will take no further action.
The police then confirmed that they would prosecute the Defendant for careless driving, but with the weight of the witness evidence, Kevin and the cyclist agreed that it was worthwhile pushing for a dangerous driving charge, which automatically transfers the matter from the Magistrates’ Court to the Crown Court.
After some persistence, the police and CPS eventually confirmed that the evidence was sufficient to justify a prosecution for dangerous driving, and this charge was brought against the motorist.
Kevin's stance was vindicated when the motorist pleaded guilty to the charge; she received a fine, a 12 months driving ban and 150 hours community service.
No doubt the motorist pleaded guilty because of the weight of the witness evidence against her, and because she did this, the cyclist and the helpful independent witnesses were spared having to attend Trial and be cross-examined.
Kevin pursued this matter vigorously because he has experienced on so many occasions the police/CPS taking what he sees as the easy way out and either not prosecuting a motorist at all or not considering the more serious charge of dangerous driving when the evidence clearly points to this.
Although our main role is to pursue compensation, this is an example of how we helped achieve justice for our client because it was important to him. His claim for his fractured wrist is ongoing - medical evidence is currently being obtained. The car driver's insurers have already admitted liability, no doubt partly because of the conviction for dangerous driving now secured against the motorist.
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