Injured biker welcomes Brake Road Safety Week campaign aimed at changing driver behaviour

Brake Road Safety Week – 21-27 November 2016

A motorcyclist who was left with severe injuries and facing the prospect of losing his foot after a collision with a car is backing Brake Road Safety Week’s ‘Make the Brake Pledge’ campaign. The charity is encouraging drivers, passengers and other road users to think twice about their driving behaviour in order to help make our villages, towns and cities safer places to be.

The motorcyclist was negotiating a roundabout at the A29 Orchard Way/Shripney Road junction in Bognor Regis when a car pulled out and hit the side of his motorcycle. The impact caused him to fall from the bike, trapping his ankle between the car and his motorcycle.

As a result of the accident, the 32-year-old rider suffered a ‘pilon fracture’ to the lower part of his tibia, a fracture to the lower part of the fibula and fractures to the ankle joint. Initially the fractures were stabilised using an external frame and nailing, although due to the onset of post-traumatic osteoarthritis, he was forced to undergo a fusion of the ankle joint.

Although personal injury specialists, Minster Law, successfully organised interim payments to support the Bognor Regis resident financially through his recovery as well as help with early rehabilitation, he continues to suffer significant pain and stiffness in his ankle and has difficulty when walking up stairs and on uneven ground. It is also likely that the adjacent bones in his ankle will become degenerative leading to further fusion of the bones in his foot over time, which means that he could still face amputation in the future.

Minster Law Associate Solicitor, Philip Austick, who led the motorcyclist’s case said: “My client’s ankle injuries were very serious and the medical evidence was complicated because there was delayed union of the bones leading to a low risk of amputation. Treatment was subsequently carried out throughout the claim causing significant delays to the progress of the case.

“However, my client now has the financial security he needs to fund any future treatment. This covers any help and support he may require which will enable him to become independent and acquire a suitable single storey property appropriate for his long-term needs.”

Unfortunately, accidents at roundabouts are not uncommon. In 2015, the Department of Transport reported that there had been more than 57,000 accidents at roundabouts, of which almost 3,000 had resulted in serious injury*.

The motorcyclist said: “While it’s true that my accident has left me with lifelong and complicated injuries, as well as the threat of amputation in the future, there are many other vulnerable road users who have been less fortunate than I have been. Brake Road Safety Week’s Make a Pledge campaign is a great way to highlight some of the small things motorists can do to help make our roads safer, and ultimately save lives.”

To learn more about Brake’s six pledges: slow, sober, secure, silent, sharp and sustainable, and to get involved with the Road Safety Week, please visit www.roadsafetyweek.org.uk.

* Reported accidents by junction type, built-up and non-built-up roads and severity, Great Britain, 2015 (29 September 2015)