Man who was paralysed sues Planet X for £10 million

[AuroraSaab]

Not sure if this has been discussed already. A doctor who was injured whilst riding his new Planet X Tempest is suing the company for £10 million.

'Daniel Gordon, 30, suffered life-changing injuries when the forks of his £2,300 all-terrain gravel bike 'sheared in two' as he rode through the grounds of the hospital where his girlfriend worked in Inverness, Scotland'.

'In the course of descending the grass slope at a speed of about 25 km per hour (15.5 mph), which is terrain and a speed the claimant will say ought to have been well within the capabilities of the bike, the carbon fibre front forks suddenly and without warning sheared in two at the base of the steerer tube, causing the front wheel of the bike to collapse rearwards'.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12795245/NHS-doctor-paralysed-bike-sheared-sues-firm.html

An awful thing to happen and I can only admire how the guy has returned not only to his training and career but to cycling too. I don't know enough about bike construction to comment on his chances of success but I can't recall a similar case of a bike manufacturer in UK courts.

 

[alicat]

Nobody expects to be paralysed when taking a new bike out so it will be hard to argue that the forks were not defective.

 

[Cycleops]

This will run and run. The guy deserves the full amount he is claiming. Shameful they are trying to sidestep responsibility but that's the form in these cases.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Well Planet X itself is insolvent and in administration. The business (but not its liabilities eg potentially to this poor guy) has been sold and looks like it'll continue to trade. I am not a lawyer but assume there will be no basis for claim on the new firm running this 'trading as Planet X'.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

The claimant will be wrestling PX the Former's public liability insurers.

 

[I like Skol]

but I can't recall a similar case of a bike manufacturer in UK courts.

A similar case very recently.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/11/01/cyclist-broke-back-bike-collapsed-beneath-him-giant-uk/

 

[AuroraSaab]

That's a very similar scenario with the forks breaking. Awful. I wonder what's going on. Poorer quality materials, poor quality control? I'm a gentle recreational cyclist so I can't really get my head around what amount of pressure on the forks a rider could create that would break them in such a way.

Well Planet X itself is insolvent and in administration. The business (but not its liabilities eg potentially to this poor guy) has been sold and looks like it'll continue to trade. I am not a lawyer but assume there will be no basis for claim on the new firm running this 'trading as Planet X'.

Hadn't realised they had been sold though I knew they were in trouble. If I recall, a few years ago the owner turned the company over to the employees.

 

[cougie uk]

Poor guy. I bought my tempest the same year and there's been no recall or anything else that I know of. A freak occurrence I guess ?

 

[cougie uk]

That's a very similar scenario with the forks breaking. Awful. I wonder what's going on. Poorer quality materials, poor quality control? I'm a gentle recreational cyclist so I can't really get my head around what amount of pressure on the forks a rider could create that would break them in such a way.



Hadn't realised they had been sold though I knew they were in trouble. If I recall, a few years ago the owner turned the company over to the employees.

Happened to George Hincapie a few years ago. Apparently it was an aluminium steerer bonded to a CF fork so the join was the weak point.

View: https://youtu.be/7ZiZy0pm2T0?si=Fyu0qu7z--V9asJ1

 

[Yellow Saddle]

There's more to every "just riding along" story than what the newspapers print.

But this serves as a reminder to those who don't regularly do M-checks and forcibly push their bikes back and forth against a locked front brake to listen for creaks. When doing your checks also don't forget to face the bike, grip the bars in your hands, grip the front wheel between your knees and steer hard against yourself to see if there is anything wrong with the front's torsional strength.

 

[Drago]

In do a full BESTCOPAS check before a day's riding, and ABCs if the bike is out of my sight at any time during the day. Old pilots, bold pilots.

I'm also one of those weird perverts that checks their cars levels, treads and pressures every weak. Weird, I know, but you make your own luck with these things.

 

[Bristolian]

@Drago
POWDER I know but ...... BESTCOPAS?

 

[alicat]

But this serves as a reminder to those who don't regularly do M-checks and forcibly push their bikes back and forth against a locked front brake to listen for creaks.

It was a new bike.

 

[Drago]

It was a new bike.

Being new doesn't make a failure any less painful.

 

[Drago]

@Drago
POWDER I know but ...... BESTCOPAS?

Brakes, Electrics (where fitted), Steering, Transmission, Oil, Pressures (and tyre condition), accessories (if fitted), suspension (Inc. Forks).

ABC's = Air, Brakes, Chain (gears)