Bicycle Accidents – of the Unusual Kind

With the long, and seemingly never ending, recession, increased petrol prices and running costs for cars, and the greener view of our planet, it’s not surprising that there seem to be more bicycles on the roads. But bicycles are slow and hard to spot, and drivers can be impatient! So bicycle accidents do of course happen; and just with motorcycle accidents, the injuries the victims can sustain can be quite awful – and claims for compensation can be made.

But on occasions when I review the recent news in search of ideas for my next article, I find a story that can only be described as out of the ordinary. So here’s one – of an unusual cycle incident that could warrant a claim for compensation – but it’s certainly no accident we’re looking at here!

According to Sky News (source) – which does have video footage of this! – a cyclist was purposefully pushed off of his bike in New York’s Times Square by an on duty police officer during a pro-cycling demonstration. The tourist video has apparently become a YouTube sensation with over two million hits! The officer in question, Patrick Pogan, has actually walked free from court with nothing more than the US equivalent of a conditional discharge for the incident. There were calls for a jail sentence, where he could have been facing up to four years for assault and harassment of the cyclist, named as Christopher Long.

The officer has been convicted of filing false documents after the eye witness video contradicted his version of events in a court document. This “misleading account”, according to the source, included attempted assault charges against Mr Long; which have since been dropped. The initial account alleged that Long had steered in to Pogan and knocked him down – take a look at the video; this version of events is entirely fabricated!

The source also advises that the court’s decision appears to take in to account the officers’ inexperience as a rookie fresh out of the Police Academy. Personally, it’s still concerning that an officer of the law would fabricate such a story after an unnecessary and unprovoked assault of an innocent man.

The police are there to protect us, and are representatives of the law; they should therefore be upholding it. The video clearly shows Pogan walking toward Long and knocking him off of his bike – follow the link and take a look for yourself. Words can’t describe how obvious the video illustrates the events – it just proves the camera never lies!

In such circumstances, the victim here (had this story occurred in England) could potentially claim for compensation from either the police or the CICA. Had this been an accident, with negligence on the officers part proved, than a straight forward claim against the force would be the option. But for unprovoked and purposeful assaults, the claim can be brought with the CICA (Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority) – a government body that compensates the victims of criminal assaults.

The best thing to do is contact an expert independent injury lawyer for advice on how to claim and what steps to take. We at The Injury Lawyers are always more than happy to give free, no obligation advice on what claiming is all about!

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