Jason Bottomley was happily pedalling along the A629 towards Shepley when he was thrown from his bike. As he hit the ground his ear was almost severed and his bike frame was snapped in half. He also sustained cuts and bruises to his face, head, hands, arms and legs.

He hadn’t seen the large pothole in the middle of the road and his front wheel had hit it.

Jason Bottomley was happily pedalling along the A629 towards Shepley when he was thrown from his bike. As he hit the ground his ear was almost severed and his bike frame was snapped in half. He also sustained cuts and bruises to his face, head, hands, arms and legs.

He hadn’t seen the large pothole in the middle of the road and his front wheel had hit it.

Although he was admitted to Sheffield’s Northern General Hospital and underwent surgery to reattach his ear, Jason has been left with extensive scarring on his ear, neck, shoulder and knees.

Initially Mr Bottomley only sought £250 compensation to cover his bike’s repair cost. But when the council refused to pay he involved a solicitor and was eventually awarded £6,000 for personal injuries.

Jason had this to say: “I would have been happy with the £250 but it became a bit personal.”

Cyclist organisations get as many calls regarding pothole related incidents as they do concerning collisions with motorists. Potholes have proved to be very serious hazards to cyclists and can be barely visible to a rider focusing on the traffic around him. Potentially you could be thrown from your bike into the path of oncoming traffic.

So many accidents have occurred that the Cyclists’ Touring Club (CTC) has introduced two new internet sites with systems in place to warn other cyclists by marking the location of potholes and other road defects.

Unfortunately such warnings will come too late for many cyclists. But if you have suffered an accident as a result of a road defect and have been left injured or with a damaged bike you may, like Jason Bottomley, be able to bring a legal claim for compensation. Call Macks Solicitors on 01642 252 828 or go to our online claim form.