Legal Q&A – Police Biker takes a tumble..

Q My Mum and Dad were both in the Police and my sister and I have followed suit.  I suppose it’s ‘in the blood’. Around three years ago, I qualified to join our area traffic section, specifically so I could ride the police motorbikes.  You have to jump through quite a few hoops, but having been an avid biker all my life it seemed like the perfect combo, getting paid to do what I love. Whilst it may sound corny, every day is different, and I truly believe I’m doing some good in the world. About three months ago I had finished a long shift and was heading home on my own bike, a Honda CB1300. I was plodding around a roundabout when a bus failed to give way and pulled out, clipping my rear wheel. I went down like a sack of potatoes and smashed my femur. Whilst I have had two lots of surgery, my leg is still in an external fixator (it’s like a giant metal frame). I am missing about two inches of bone, but on the scans it does look like it is starting to grow back. The NHS (God bless them) have done an amazing job, but naturally I cannot go back to work. Whilst I get I can claim for loss of earnings, can I claim for not being a police biker? I will be devastated if I cannot go back to the job I love.

A  You have taken a serious tumble, to say the least. However, it’s still early days so you may yet be able to return. Often the Police will send injured officers to a rehabilitation centre. If you have not explored this already, I recommend it. They have a team of physiotherapists, mental health practitioners and registered nurses. If they can help, and you win your claim, they may even be able to recover their costs in fixing you from the bus driver’s insurance. However, if you cannot return to being a police biker officer, I suspect that in addition to a claim for your injuries and loss of earnings, etc., you would also have a claim for a ‘loss of congenial employment’. This specific head of loss is for Claimants who are prevented from doing a specific job they really enjoy. Historically, this head of loss usually arose in instances where the Claimant’s pre-accident job was of an unusual nature, i.e., a professional boxer, or a ballet dancer, etc. However, as the years have gone on, the Claimant need only prove they took a great deal of satisfaction and fulfilment from their work, and the accident has stopped them doing this. In light of your career path, if you cannot return as a police biker, I’m of the view you will likely be compensated for a ‘loss of congenial employment’.

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The MB legal column is compiled by managing partner Andrew ‘Chef’ Prendergast and his bike-riding barristers and solicitors at White Dalton Motorcycle Solicitors.