To think this was quite unfair

The cyclist is a bit of a prat though isn’t he? He never got legal advice at the outset and therefore never put in a claim himself to counter sue. I think this is more complex then some people think and wider than the specifics of any particular case. If you are grown up enough to ride a bike in city traffic with all the known idiocies of pedestrians and vehicle drivers, maybe you should take some responsibility for insuring yourself or if involved in an accident, get some legal advice. As I said earlier ,what about a situation of a totally innocent pedestrian disabled for life by an uninsured cyclist? I was once nearly knocked down on the pavement - yes the pavement - by an adult cyclist. From what I know of the case, had I been her I wouldn’t have taken legal action but I don’t think that means I think the cyclist in the case is totally hard done by.

So glad the young man now has crowdfunding to help him out of this sticky jam he finds himself in through no fault of his own really. My feeling is that should do well the majority of people have a sense of fair play and that certainly hasn't played out in this scenario, I might wander over there and contribute a couple of quid, every little helps as that annoying ad tells us!....and yes that girl, if she has any decency, should feel guilty, or maybe she's one of those unfortunate people who are never in the wrong

Ridiculous ruling.

The target has been achieved.
IMO the woman was to blame.
I did read that in one city some street furniture/statue had been moved because phone users kept bumping into them.
I’m not sure if that was true or not.

But I still think compulsory insurance for cyclists is the way forward

www.gofundme.com/f/help-cover-rob-hazeldean039s-legal-fees

It’s doing well. I really like crowdfunding as an idea in general. You are totally free to give as little or as much as you want anonymously or otherwise to any one off cause that moves you in some way.

I did say to DH that I would contribute a fiver!

And I do often grumble about cyclists too, as they take over our local roads, so that proves how unfair I think this is.

I hope a crowdfunding campaign is started. I feel so sorry for this man.

Should we be crowdfunding to pay it for him?

Yes to insurance for cyclists.

Yes, some pedestrians are very careless, with or without phones, but more so with!

Was it his fault? It doesn't sound like it.

But did he slow down?
He swerved to avoid her, but unfortunately she went the same way.

OK, so cyclists and motorists, van drivers, bus drivers, etc have to be aware that pedestrians may behave stupidly and step out without looking when the road users have a green light - so, even if he should have been aware that a careless and stupid pedestrian may step out into the road, the blame, imo, was entirely hers.
He rightly took avoiding action which did not work.

I assume that in law a cyclist should take the same care as a motorist in respect of pedestrians, ie. to anticipate possible unexpected behaviour and to be extra cautious. I believe the cyclist saw the woman and called out or gave some sort of warning. But did he slow down? A cyclist can do quite a lot of damage, especially if pedalling fast.

In this case, on the face of it, it seems unfair that this young woman has been awarded over £4,000, and the cyclist has got to pay £100,000 in costs. Presumably, if the cyclist had negotiated a settlement with the woman, he could have avoided the legal fees. If he appointed a solicitor, he might have been better advised to repreent himself and to make an offer of settlement.- - but there would still be the issue of her fees.

If I were that woman, I would feel guilty to have had such a huge financial and emotional impact on this man's life. She should not have been looking at her phone. In law she had the right to pursue a claim but, ethically, I think it was wrong of her, especially as he was hurt too.

I don't suppose all cyclists think about getting themselves insured but perhaps this will scare them into doing so. I think I agree with suzie that it should be compulsory for cyclists to get insurance - for the sake of both parties.

I read about this in the Law Gazette. She is only getting £4100 in compensation. He says he has to find £20,000 to cover that and his own legal fees. They are going back to court to decide on how much is reasonable for her legal fees. It’s said she's spent £100,000 on that but his lawyers will argue that’s not fair - but he will have to pay something and probably a substantial amount. I hope people don’t mind me saying this but would someone really walk into a bike and risk death/ serious injury for £4000? It will be interesting what happens about her costs.

Crazy - not his fault, where do these judges get their ideas from ?

I am a keen cyclist and belong to two cycling groups. When cycling with them we are covered by a block insurance policy (for which we pay £5 per year for one and £1 per ride for another). However, when I go out cycling just with groups of friends or on my own, I guess I'm not covered.
This story has got me thinking. I've just looked at an insurance package (PedalSure) and even their gold membership, which is £14.50 a month (eek!) only has £25,000 legal expenses, which it seems in this case would have been totally inadequate.

The judge is a fool. I now see a tsunami of pedestrians walking into the road in front of a cyclist and then suing with that he aid of one of those no win no fee legal firms. The law is an ass!

And a personal injury insurance which I've had for years.

I agree Suzie - if you're using the roads you should have some form of insurance.

I agree re insurance, suziewoozie.

I thought it was reported that the compensation is £200,000 but he is only liable to pay her half.

Enough to wreck his life and to set her up very nicely.

I agree suziewoozie regarding insurance.

The judge ruled that the blame was 50/50 so reducing the compensation payable to her. However he didn’t make a counter claim so he has apparently to foot the legal bill. The compensation was just over £4000. What I haven’t seen mentioned is the fact that there is no compulsory insurance for cyclists - imagine if it had been all his fault and she had been disabled for life. He wouldn’t have been able to pay her compensation because of his limited means - that’s not really fair is it? My take away from this is that there should be compulsory insurance for cyclists.

Silly woman, daft judge

The law is an ass ! Certainly in this case it is. I've never heard anything so ridiculous or totally unfair------then again, judges are another lot who live on a different planet.

This poor cyclist. He tried to swerve her but unfortunately they both went the same way.

He says will be left 'bankrupt' after being forced to pay up to £100,000 in court costs and compensation. He has moved to France since the accident. His mental health has been badly affected.

The message behing this ruling is: If you want 5k and also would like to ruin a cyclist's life, just step out in front of them.