A London council worker who broke his leg in four places after crashing while riding a “faulty” Lime hire bike – the latest example of what’s become known as ‘Lime bike leg’ – has called on the cycle hire company to introduce safety measures “before someone with a similar injury dies”.
Willam Radford, who has launched a compensation case against Lime, also criticised the company’s response to his crash, claiming the only communication he has received from the brand was the offer of a £6.99 refund for his use of the hire bike.
The 27-year-old had hired the dockless e-bike from outside his south London flat as he went to buy lunch in September 2024. As Radford cycled in the rain on Garrett Lane in Earlsfield, he slowed down to let pedestrians cross the road.
But as he braked, the bike’s rear wheel slid out without warning, causing Radford to crash and the bike to land on top of him, “snapping” his leg in four places “like a twig”, he says.
Describing the crash to the Evening Standard, Radford said: “It was like in slow motion, the sound, ‘snap’, and then the pain so bad I would score it 100 out of 100.
“It was the most painful thing ever. If someone had walked past and offered to end it all there and then, I would have said yes.”
He was taken to nearby St George’s Hospital, Tooting, where doctors told him his injuries could potentially have been fatal as the break was near the femoral artery. The council worker says that, over a year on, he is still recovering and is unable to go for a run or ride a bike.
Radford has since launched a compensation claim against the hire bike firm, one of at least a dozen cyclists to have publicly revealed that they were seriously injured while riding a Lime bike in London in recent years.
The 27-year-old’s solicitors, Injury Lawyers 4U, have sent a letter of claim to Lime, though it has not yet been submitted to the High Court.
Calling for an urgent safety review of the machines, Radford said: “It’s only a matter of time before someone with a similar injury dies if they bleed out from their femoral artery.
“I now have metal in my leg for life holding it together. I think Lime know they have a problem with the heavy frame that is causing serious injuries like mine.
“All they did after I told them was give me a £6.99 refund for the hire instead of speaking with me.”
Injury Lawyers 4U’s e-bike specialist Michael Hardacre also told the Standard that Radford’s crash is part of a “worrying trend” of injuries caused by the heavy dockless e-bikes, which weigh around 35kg, that can “no longer be ignored” by the company.
“Lime have a duty of care to their riders to make sure the bikes are safe when hired out and fit for purpose,” he said.
“Serious injuries like William’s can no longer be ignored or seen as the price of doing business in our town and cities.”
A Lime spokesperson told the Standard that it had received Mr Radford’s claim correspondence in late October.
“Our claims team responded to the letter of claim requesting necessary further information. As of last week, we are still waiting a response,” he said, though Injury Lawyers 4U say they replied on 15 November.
In September, it was reported that Lime was facing 12 compensation claims from other London cyclists who say they were injured in crashes caused by “faulty” e-bikes, with some claiming their brakes stopped working or the bike “simply fell apart”.
The law firm pursuing the claims, Osbornes Law, also stated that the incidents “were avoidable if the bikes had been in working order” and there had been “a steady influx of cases coming to us in the past few months”.
Since the story’s publication, Osbornes Law contacted us to confirm it had heard from more people came forward with similar stories due to the increased media attention.
The previous month, a London surgeon also warned of the rise in serious injuries linked to Lime e-bikes, claiming he now sees “at least one patient a week” suffering from ‘Like bike leg’.
Alex Liddle, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon specialising in hip and knee surgery at King Edward VII’s Hospital, told the Telegraph: “I see at least one patient a week, which comes in after a Lime bike injury. It’s a really common cause of leg injuries today.”
Unlike experienced cyclists, who he explained are more likely to suffer “high energy” trauma such as head, chest, or multiple limb fractures after collisions with drivers, Lime-related incidents are usually “low energy”, meaning people losing balance or having the bike fall on them while stationary.
“It’s almost always the lower limbs, from ankle fractures to tibia [shinbone] fractures, and soft tissue injuries around the knee – we don’t see many injuries from the knee upwards, but we’ve had the odd cracked pelvis,” he said.
“However, it’s normally fractures either at the top of or in the middle of the tibia. These bikes are heavy things, so there’s quite a lot of force that goes through the bone. We’ve had patients who’ve required plastic surgery for open fractures.”
One case noted by Liddle involved a 21-year-old tourist who stopped at a junction only for the 35kg bike to topple onto her leg, leaving her with an open tibial fracture that required surgery.
In another incident, a man broke his ACL after losing balance when a driver pulled out in front of him, a fall made worse by the weight of a bag in the Lime bike’s front basket.
“Often we get a lot of tourists who aren’t used to the roads in London,” he said. “Quite often it’s people I see who were literally just taking off on the bikes; they get this unexpected push from the motor, and they then lose balance.”
Responding to the rise of incidents involving their bikes, a Lime spokesperson previously said: “We are saddened to hear about these incidents and our thoughts are with those impacted.
“We take these claims extremely seriously. Safety informs everything we do at Lime – from how we design and maintain our vehicles, to our rider education, and how we work with cities.”
27 thoughts on ““All they did was give me a £6.99 refund”: Cyclist suing Lime over e-bike horror crash which “snapped his leg like a twig” says it’s “only a matter of time before someone dies””
What does “slid out without
What does “slid out without warning” mean? Skidded? God knows I’m no fan of Lime bikes, or rather the way many of their clientele ride them, but it’s noticeble there hasn’t been, as far as I know, a rash of “cargo bike leg” injuries, even though many of them weigh about the same. Can’t help feeling rider error must come into quite a lot of these crashes…
But at least one doctor said
But at least one doctor said they were super dangerous! An actual doctor, so they obviously are an expert here. I mean, stands to reason…
(Ethically questionable but would now be the time for road.cc to step up, sending contributors out on a CF racer, a “commuter”, a regular Dutch Omafiets, a few Uk bike share bikes and a cargo bike, to see who crashes first and how bad it is? )
Absolutely, doctor knows best
Absolutely, doctor knows best! If one were allowed just a tiny question of them though it might be to ask why they see one Lime bike injury a week and call them death traps but in London they must see dozens of injuries from cars each week but they aren’t scaremongering in the press about what a threat cars are?
TBF I suspect the press is
TBF I suspect the press is mostly behind that, because the other isn’t news…
I’ve fallen off my bike a
I’ve fallen off my bike a fair few times, on and off road, bruises, scrapes and shoulder joint damage, but never felt like I was in danger of breaking a leg.
Lime bikes are very heavy as I found when I tried to move on that had been “parked” in the middle of a road but so are scooters and motorbikes, so it does seem there’s some design aspect that makes them more dangerous.
There wasn’t a sudden increase in serious injuries from the Santander hire bikes which presumably had a similar user profile.
35kg is quite heavy, nearly a
35kg is quite heavy, nearly a half of me.
I’m guessing the tyres aren’t made for exceptional grip or feel. Are the brakes particularly grabby?
I think insufficient
I think insufficient attention is being paid to the credibility of a Consultant orthopaedic surgeon who will not be lying about the injuries he is seeing which, we’re told, are happening to the riders of Lime bikes. I have never used one, but I think it’s quite likely that the main cause of the injuries is ‘rider error’ and experienced cyclists (I am generously including regular e-bike riders in that category) would (I believe, but I am bereft of evidence) be much less likely to suffer such incidents. However, it is legitimate to note that Lime bikes are a system being offered to the inexpert public, and it is also legitimate to point out the outcomes of that system. Rendel’s point is also valid – the outcomes of the system where crazed nutters are allowed access to death machines and are incentivised by the absence of proper punishment for misuse to drive them around however they like – are pretty bad and are generally ignored by the MSM. What we need, and aren’t going to get because of biased anti-cyclist and pro-motorist propaganda from the MSM, police and the legal system, is some statistical comparison ‘per person-mile in London (say) of the injuries and costs to society of driving, ordinary cycling and legal e-biking (with Lime-biking as a subset).
The sad fact is that most
The sad fact is that most Doctors who aren’t actually involved in medical research and even some of those who aren’t have a terrible grasp of statistics.
For a career that’s entirely founded on stats it’s quite shocking.
What does ‘slid out’ mean? I
What does ‘slid out’ mean? I thought it meant the rear wheel became detached from the bike. But surely it doesn’t mean that? How would that happen? Presumably the drop outs have some sort of safety washer to prevent that from happening. I will have a look next time I see one. I do have this habit of picking them up when I see them on their side on the pavement and they are very heavy. I own several e-bikes and though the TERN is a lump the other two are around 25kg (Riese and Muller) Maybe Lime need to lose 10 kgs and put the motor in the back (or preferably the middle – though that makes the bike more expensive) and then there is less ‘kick’ and more gradual power.
I don’t think all this is as
I don’t think all this is as daft/unlikely as some are suggesting, although of course there’s an element of tabloid ‘Oh, look, cycling is dangerous.’ Two points:
Re the ‘sliding out’, I assumed this meant ‘slipped’. My sister had a similar-sounding incident a couple of years ago: almost stopped for a light, rolled over a piece of wet card which delaminated (her word – she’s a paper conservator by trade and should have known to avoid it!), causing her to ‘lose’ the front wheel. The resulting unplanned dismount caused sufficient leg/hip injury for passers-by to insist on calling an ambulance. This was on a normal weight ‘acoustic’ bike with a step-through frame. It’s not difficult to imagine worse damage in a similar situation with a heavier machine.
And re inexperience, this must be a factor – although see above – not just people unused to cycling but unused to city traffic. Even habitual cyclists may not have tried an e-bike before; and could weight actually be more of a problem (or surprise) for someone used to the handling of a conventional bike? I’d consider myself an experienced cyclist, but I think I’d want my first go on one of those things to be on a very quiet back street!
Summary: bikes can crash, it
Summary: bikes can crash, it can injure?
Longer:
a) you can *also* crash on a bike when a wheel loses grip.
b) People assume they won’t even when they know it could be slippy.
c) …And think that if they do crash they’ll be fine because “it’s just a bike”.
d) Different bikes can handle differently.
“Summary: people on bikes can
“Summary: people riding bikes can crash, and can get injured?”
Were you Clippy in a former
Were you Clippy in a former life? “Consider rewriting this to highlight the animate agents in every clause”?
We get the idea, but I’m guessing your poetry is flabby.
“It looks like you’re trying
“It looks like you’re trying to have a reasonable conversation on the internet – can I hel… actually, never mind…”
Elon Musk downvoted…
Elon Musk downvoted…
Sorry to hear about your
Sorry to hear about your sister and I hope she recovered fully. However I would’ve thought that the greater weight of a Lime bike makes that sort of skidding out less likely rather than more, with its extra downforce and very wide tyres. The main point is that your sister clearly didn’t try to blame the bicycle for her accident but it seems to me that virtually anyone who crashes a Lime bike claims it must have been the bike’s fault; there was a report on here recently of someone who had been in a crash on one of them and had no memory of it but because the saddle was found detached from the bike after the crash he decided it must’ve come off and caused him to crash, not that it could have come off as a result of said crash…
Not sure the concerned doctor
Not sure the concerned doctor is blaming Lime bikes for the actual crashes, more for the potentially serious consequences. That was partly the point of my ramble above – less harm from the lighter bikes that most people will be used to.
You make good points. I’m an
You make good points. I’m an experienced cyclist and motorcyclist, so I’m used to being on two wheels and also used to something heavier than my bicycle. I’ve used Lime bikes and a few other e-bikes and yes, it is a new skill to learn. The Lime bikes are heavy. Cadence braking is something experienced cyclists would know about and anyone who has ridden cyclocross or MTB or BMX would also have enough experience of braking in difficult conditions to reduce the risk of falling.
A lot of the Lime bikes are in poor condition. I saw one ridden past just this morning with a very soft rear tyre and one the other day that had a puncture at the rear with the rider struggling to make any progress. And yes, Lime bikes are often used by people with minimal riding skills and no experience of riding in UK traffic.
I’m not really sure what the answer is. If you are renting a Lime bike, make sure it’s safe to ride first. Many aren’t.
I hope your sister is ok.
It would be interesting to do
It would be interesting to do a comparison the centre of gravity of a Lime bike, a pedal cycle, a retail e-bike, various types of cargo bike, and a small motorbike or motorscooter.
My hunch is that the Lime bike with its high-up positioning of the metal-encased battery on top of the downtube coupled with the top heavy fork design and basket means they would come out worse than any other kind of two-wheeled transport.
Yep, that might be an
Yep, that might be an interesting comparison. I think the weight isn’t that high up on a Lime bike. But the centre of gravity depends a lot on what’s in the front basket. It’s been a while since I last rode a Lime bike but it didn’t strike me that the centre of of gravity was much higher (if any) than my classic lightweight 200cc two stroke motorbike. That weighs 125kg incidentally. The centre of gravity on a Lime bike is probably a lot lower than my 650cc sports bike, which is about 180kg though.
The centre of gravity on a big motorcycle can vary a lot depending on the type. My buddy’s classic Laverda Jota is a beast as it’s heavy with a high centre of gravity, much higher than my present 650 or my old Ducati 750.
Thanks both – yes, she’s fine
Thanks both – yes, she’s fine. Embarrassed by the ambo! The main impact was a few days of bus commuting.
Good to hear.
Good to hear.
Good news. Hope that doesn’t
Good news. Hope that doesn’t colour cycling for her in future.
Given “mass public casual use
Given “mass public casual use” – aside from leaning on companies using public space for private profit * should we be mandating four- wheelers on safety grounds?
* The key part is where they aren’t making most of their money from the riders but rather other sources like venture capital – so aren’t primarily motivated by serving those riders, and certainly not the places where they operate. If they were largely funded by a local authority or at least licenced by them (like some other schemes around the country eg. Santander bikes) there is more chance of them actually being an overall public good, rather than that being incidental.
I can’t remember who was
I can’t remember who was doing the pay as you go hire bikes in Cambridge before Voi, but you used to see a lot of people fall off them when it was wet.
Possibly soild tyres, or at least ones with very poor wet weather grip combined with heavy bikes and inexperienced riders was not a good combination.
Just wait until you realise
Just wait until you realise that people go out and about wearing high heels, or roller skates, or other footwear that reduces stability or is unsuited to wet conditions. And / or while drunk!
I’m torn on this – sustainable safety would suggest that public hire bikes should not reduce people’s safety.
Given that we know a) they’ll be used by humans and b) people in the UK aren’t on average regular cyclists c) the UK cycling environment is a lot less safe than it could be …
… that probably means you should be required to take a course first. And the bikes shouldn’t be capable of falling over, or moving at speeds much above jogging. Perhaps they shouldn’t move at all? And they should be surrounded by some spongy material to cushion people when they manage to fall off / trip over them anyway…
I would expect the outcome of
I would expect the outcome of a case like this to be how liability/negligence laws interact with public interest
I.e. the risk associated with falling off an e-bike aren’t sufficient to overcome the public good of having hire e-bikes available.
Might be valid arguments about the maintenance of them given how many have lights hanging out of mounts;
But the complaint seems to be ‘they are heavy so break legs when inexperienced riders fall over and the bike lands on limb’. I can’t see a magic solution to avoid this – a decent battery capacity (necessary for long usage) = heavy battery. Equally they get a LOT of abuse so need a heavy build to stand up to said abuse – a lighter bike I expect would correlate with greater risk of the bike getting broken (and then suffering related mechanical failure while being ridden)