Knocked off by a skater

Last September I was riding to work in Cardiff along a road consisting of a single lane in each direction, with pavements on both sides and a speed limit of 30mph. I was riding at around 25–30mph.

2 school boys were on skateboards  on the pavement on my side of the road. All of a sudden, one of them lost control of the skateboard, which came into the road directly in front of me. I swerved but ended up coming off.

I had some injuries and would like to make a compensation claim. Is there anything like the Motor Insurers Bureau which would compensate me?

Lawrence, by e-mail

Answer

The Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) pays compensation to individuals who have suffered injury or loss as a result of the negligence of uninsured or untraced drivers of motor vehicles. As the incident you describe did not involve a motor vehicle, the MIB would not compensate you.

Similarly, a claim through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) would be unlikely to succeed as the CICA scheme generally requires that the injury arises from a crime of violence.

It may be that the boy’s parents have a household contents insurance policy that would cover this incident. Such policies can extend to negligent acts committed by members of the household, even when those acts occur away from the home. If you have the contact details of the boy or his parents, it would be advisable to write to them to ask if they have such insurance.