The barrister who represented Gemma Brushett, the pedestrian who sued cyclist Robert Hazeldean for hitting her although she was found to be partly liable, has given his view on the case.
Aneurin Moloney says in his opening paragraph on a blog post: "I accept that I am not an independent observer of the case. But I was one of only a handful of people who were present for the 2 days of the trial, and can add some important detail to that put out in the newspapers."
He then says in court, it was revealed that one witness (called Mr H in the blog) came forward who was of the opinion the defendant (Hazeldean) was to blame:
"The Claimant relied on Mr H as her only witness on the issue of liability. Mr H attended trial and was cross examined by the Defendant’s barrister.
"Mr H’s evidence included a voice memo that he had recorded on his mobile phone minutes after the accident in order to provide a more detailed account than that recorded by the police. His witness statement expanded upon his police statement. He described in Court that there was a ‘throng’ of pedestrians 5 or 6 deep crossing the road, and estimated that there were 50 people in this group. He described that he slowed his bicycle because he felt that it was unsafe to proceed with people still crossing.
"Mr H said that he was overtaken by the Defendant, who was travelling at around 20mph and had sounded his airhorn. Mr H considered that the Defendant accelerated as he approached the crossing. He saw the Defendant collide with the Claimant who was crossing the road. He remained of the view that the Defendant was to blame."
Moloney summarises: "There was more to this decision than the many of the newspaper articles conveyed.
"Based on the judge’s finding that the Claimant was using her mobile phone, it was absolutely correct that she was found to have significantly contributed to the accident. However, the Defendant himself had conceded that he had accelerated towards a crossing which wasn’t clear of people.
"If any wider good has come from this case it is that the publicity may encourage cyclists to take out insurance to protect themselves in the event that their riding causes someone to suffer injury."
The case has garnered a significant amount of media attention, and a crowdfunder to help pay for Hazeldean's legal fees has now reached over £55,000. The page creator and Hazeldean have said any money left over will be donated to the Action Aid charity.
Not to mention nudity and fornication beside the tracks. Oh, sorry that's the Forest of Dean of course. The Sons of Anarchy would never be involved...
I'd wait for global warming to kick in big-time. It gets pretty chilly down there on the cold hard ground.
Then lose some weight.
Netherthong and Upperthong, near Holmfirth.
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it could, if we wanted to reduce the price of bargain basement bikes sent direct from China
Perhaps all languages have a guilty sound. The way 'j's are pronounced in Spanish also springs to mind.
Surely a vague law is a bad law, and shouldn't be a law at all. Common sense is also a fairly unhelpful guide. 'Common sense' for many people who...
I get the equality thing, that each road should carry its fair share. But the sat nav era has made small roads far busier and minor streets should...