Former policeman to get personal injury payout after road crash

Posted 16/06/2010

A former police officer who was badly hurt in a road accident is to receive personal injury compensation to cover his long-term care.

Alexander Kotula, 27, was cycling in September 2006 when he had to pass some roadworks set out by EDF Energy Networks, Morrison Utility Services and Birch Utilities.

However, as he went through the narrow gap between the barriers and the road with his bike, he was hit by a lorry.

Mr Kotula was forced to leave his job and is permanently paralysed.

Although the three companies attempted to contest his personal injury compensation claim, a judge at the High Court this week ruled that they were entirely to blame for the accident because they failed to leave a pedestrian walkway of one metre through the site.

As a result, the victim is likely to be awarded a compensation payout worth millions of pounds which will be decided at a later date.

More than 16,000 cyclists are killed or injured on Britain’s roads every year, according to statistics from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.