Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

news

Cyclist wins compensation for injuries caused by oil spill

£2000 payout won on appeal

A cyclist from Preston has been awarded £2000 in damages for injuries he received when he crashed his bike after slipping on an oil spillage left on the road by a farmer after lawyers acting for the CTC on his behalf succesfully appealed against an earlier decision not to compensate him.

Antony Di Domenico, 42, of Wesham, Preston, suffered injuries to his shoulder, arm, knee and hip after slipping on the oil and being thrown from his bike while cycling near the junction on Delph Lane near Garstang in Lancashire in June 2007.

Mr Di Domenico, a CTC member, was travelling with a friend at the time. A local resident who witnessed the accident informed him that the oil spillage was caused by a farmer, who attempted to cover it with sand.

“It took weeks for the grazing to heal and several months for the bruising on my shoulder and hip to recover, but I continued to feel a muscular ache on my right hip for sometime after the accident”, said Mr Di Domenico.

Mr Di Domenico applied to the Highway Authority and Motor Insurance Bureau (MIB) following his accident but his claim was rejected, as the incident had not been reported to the police and liability for the accident had not been proven.  Mr Di Domenico's solicitor appealed on his behalf and subsequently won his claim.

Paul MacBeth of Russell Jones & Walker, acting on Mr Di Domenico’s behalf, said: “Mr Di Dominico’s case was brought forward under the 2003 Untraced Drivers Agreement and his application was initially refused.  He successfully appealed as, upon closer inspection of the evidence, the untraced driver was found to be negligent.  The payout in the case accounts not only for the injury caused by the accident itself but also the stress and problems that arose subsequently.”

Debra Rolfe, CTC’s Campaigns Coordinator, said: “It is really important for the safety of cyclists and other road users that the condition of the road is safe.  That is why we urge all cyclists and motorists to report road defects like oil spillages and potholes on our website www.fillthathole.org.uk. The site automatically notifies the council or the Highways Agency so that they can fix the problem before someone gets hurt.”

Every CTC member is automatically covered by £10 million third party insurance, which covers the costs if a claim is made against them following an accident.  CTC members are also entitled to free legal advice through RJW if they suffer an injury as a result of someone else’s negligence. RJW operates the CTC Accident Helpline, a legal advice line which is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

If the value of the personal injury is more than £1000, CTC will cover all court costs irrespective of the outcome of the case and will pay for reports, expert witnesses or transport consultants if needed.  CTC members also always get to keep 100% of  their compensation and have the support of CTC throughout their case.

road.cc's founder and first editor, nowadays to be found riding a spreadsheet. Tony's journey in cycling media started in 1997 as production editor and then deputy editor of Total Bike, acting editor of Total Mountain Bike and then seven years as editor of Cycling Plus. He launched his first cycling website - the Cycling Plus Forum at the turn of the century. In 2006 he left C+ to head up the launch team for Bike Radar which he edited until 2008, when he co-launched the multi-award winning road.cc - finally handing on the reins in 2021 to Jack Sexty. His favourite ride is his ‘commute’ - which he does most days inc weekends and he’s been cycle-commuting since 1994. His favourite bikes are titanium and have disc brakes, though he'd like to own a carbon bike one day.

Add new comment

1 comments

Avatar
OldRidgeback | 14 years ago
0 likes

Ggod on him - I came off my motorbike sme years back due to a diesel spill from some site workers who had been topping up the tank on their compressor rather carelessly. I got nothing, despite the very costly damage to my motorcycle because the rules were different then.
The farmer will think twice next time.
Oil spills and fuel spills are fairly easy to clean up.
Washing up liquid is remarkably effective.

Latest Comments