Expert Personal Injury Lawyers Secure Settlement For Lincoln Woman

A 20-year-old woman who had to be rushed to hospital and suffered deep lacerations to her hand and face when she fell off a rented bicycle after the brakes failed on a steep hill has been awarded a four-figure settlement after successful legal action by law firm Irwin Mitchell.

Phyllis Bright, from Lincoln, was 18 when she travelled to the Upper Derwent Valley in the Peak District with her boyfriend to enjoy a day of cycling in July 2013.

While riding the bike she rented from the Fairholmes car park in the area down a steep hill near Abbey Brooke Bridge she realised the rear brakes on her bike had failed but it was too late to do anything about it.

The student nurse was forced off the bike to avoid crashing into the stone bridge and suffered a number of deep lacerations to her right hand and chin as well as cuts and grazes to her chest, legs and arms.

She was taken to the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield where she received stitches to the wounds in her chin and hand.

After the incident she instructed expert personal injury lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate the circumstances of her accident and if the bicycle she and her boyfriend rented had been maintained properly.

The lawyers have now secured Phyllis, 21, a four-figure settlement from the Peak District National Park Authority after it admitted liability for the injuries she suffered in 2013.

Phyllis has been left with scars on her hand and chin, as well as on her legs and chest.

Kerry Hadley, an expert personal injury lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing her, said:

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“The injuries Phyllis suffered could have easily been avoided had the bike she rented been correctly maintained.

“Unfortunately, she suffered a heavy price for this failure and, as a result, suffered serious cuts to her hand and chin, as well as damage to her jaw and cuts and grazes on her chest, legs and arms.

“We are delighted to have been able to secure her a settlement from the park authority and hope that it will help Phyllis put this terrible experience, which has left her with permanent scars, behind her and begin to move on from it. We also hope that the rental shop will do more to ensure the brakes on all of its bikes are properly checked and maintained in future to avoid similar incidents.” Kerry Hadley - Senior Associate Solicitor

As well as the scars Phyllis has been left with after the incident, she also suffered damage to her jaw, which took two months to heal. During this time she struggled to eat and was unable to sleep properly due to the pain she was suffering.

Phyllis, a third-year student nurse, said: “Realising I had no brakes halfway down a steep hill with a stone bridge at the bottom of it was a scary experience. I never thought I’d end the day in an ambulance on the way to hospital with cuts and bruises all over me.

“The accident has left me with a number of scars that act as a long-term reminder of what happened and I really struggled to eat and sleep afterwards. That means I was relying on my family for help a lot of the time, which became extremely frustrating.

“I’m glad I can now begin to put this all behind me and move on with my life after receiving a settlement from the park authority.”