The Claimant, aged 29 at the time of the motorcycle accident, was riding the motorcycle while disqualified when he pulled out of a side entrance to a local business on the Norwich inner ring road. Such was the force of impact that the Claimant was catapulted through the air before coming to rest on the ground some distance from the point of impact. The Defendant’s disputed liability raises allegations in relation to the quality of the Claimant’s riding, leaving the Claimant without access to rehabilitation during the important early aftermath of the accident. The Claimant sustained multiple orthopaedic, psychological, and neurological injuries (affecting attention, concentration, and memory). The Claimant reported increased levels of fatigue, irritability, anger, and sleep disturbance. As a consequence of his reduced cognitive skills, his business failed. While the principled approach of the insurers in this case was in some ways understandable, their application of the law in relation to the issues was wrong. Instead of maintaining an absolute denial of liability, a more respected approach would be to have conceded liability at a much earlier stage and instead relied upon arguments in relation to contributory negligence. Even though the claimant was riding a motorcycle illegally, the claimant could not entirely avoid responsibility for causing the claimant’s significant injuries. The final settlement involved a concession that the Claimant contributed to his own injuries as a result of his own negligence.
