Woman who broke leg illegally riding e-scooter on road loses battle for £30,000
An e-scoote r rider who broke her leg illegally riding on the road has lost her court battle where she tried to claim £30,000 damages.
Giovanna Drago broke her leg after she hit a pothole in north London in 2020, and tried to sue the London Borough of Barnet over an alleged failure to keep the road clear - even though she had been riding on the road illegally.
The 22-year-old saw her case thrown out of court, in what is thought to be the first of its kind, after the local authority denied liability.
Judge Jan Luba KC, rejected Drago’s case because she had no evidence that the pothole she showed a photo of in court was the one she said she hit.
She had been riding her new e-scooter illegally at the time as you can’t ride privately owned e-scooters in public spaces in the UK.
Widower's fury after teen who hit and killed wife with an e-scooter avoids jail
But she claimed she didn’t know she had been riding illegally and had only been out twice before.
The 22-year-old sought £30,000 damages from the local authority (Instagram)
The trial lasted three days before a judge chucked it out (facebook)Drago claimed she couldn’t avoid the “large and dangerous” hole in the road due to it being too dark to see it, Central London county court heard, as she travelled at a “moderate” speed.
Lawyer Geoffrey Mott, for Barnet, said the supplier of the £558 scooter from Amazon warns customers about legal restrictions barring taking them on the road, citing the government's “guidance for powered transporters”.
He added: "Those riders using an authorised hire scheme are required ... to possess an 'O' category on their own provisional or full driving licence."
During the trial, Mr Mott also said any supposed damages payout "should be precluded because the injury was the consequence of her own unlawful acts".
It is illegal to ride privately owned e-scooters on public land in the UK (stock image) (Getty Images)As a result of the fall, Drago was thrown forward without warning and suffered a broken leg which took two years to heal, she said.
The young woman said she had lasting pain as well as scarring and swelling.
Drago's barrister, Dr Joanna Kerr, accepted the illegality of riding on the road, but he argued that her offending was minimal, and so should be compensated if the council are found to be at fault.
Drago’s husband returned to the scene of the accident and took a picture of the offending pothole some months later.
But the council disputed that there had been a six-inch pothole on the road, with Mr Mott saying that safety officers had regularly monitored the stretch of road where the scooter rider came to grief.
Schoolboy on e-scooter knocks gran of six to ground and 'doesn't stop to help'
He added that repairs had been made "within hours", when a complaint was made months later, in January 2021.
Dismissing Drago’s claim, The Times reported the judge said: “I’m not satisfied that the state of the road was such that there was a large and dangerous pothole in the road at the time.”
While Drago's case is the first to go before a judge, at least one other case involving an illegal use of an electric scooter has been filed at UK courts.
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
