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Robert Hazeldean crowdfunding hits goal – but will it be enough?Justice (Lonpicman, Wikimedia Commons)

Robert Hazeldean crowdfunding hits goal – but will it be enough?

Cyclist found partly liable for crash with pedestrian could still face bankruptcy with claimant seeking almost £100,000 in costs
by Alex Bowden
Sat, Jun 22, 2019 15:26
34

A crowdfunding campaign launched to cover the legal costs of Robert Hazeldean has reached its £21,300 goal within 24 hours of being launched. The cyclist says that being able to cover the compensation claim is a huge weight off his mind, but there is still a chance he could be left bankrupt with the claimant seeking almost £100,000 in costs.

Hazeldean and pedestrian Gemma Brushett were both knocked unconscious in a collision at a junction near Cannon Street railway station in the City of London in July 2015. Brushett sued.

A judge this week found them both jointly liable for the crash, but Hazeldean has been unable to protect himself against a destructive costs award as he didn’t put forward a counterclaim himself.

“This was not because I was not injured, but because I do not advocate the claim culture,” he explained.

Thanking everyone who has donated, Hazeldean’s friend, Brittany Maher-Kirk who launched the crowdfunder, said: “We’re hopeful that the final costs won’t significantly exceed what the judge suggested this week (which was £21,300 in total) but I will leave this page up, and anything over the final amount will be donated to Action Aid.”

Hazeldean sponsored a child through Action Aid for 13 years, but due to the financial pressures around the case recently had to stop.

At the time of writing, almost £40,000 has been raised. You can donate here.

Hazeldean is currently awaiting a final hearing date at which the costs he owes will be decided.

Robert Hazeldean
Gemma Brushett
pedestrian collision
Alex Bowden

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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34 comments

Avatar
aegisdesign replied to hawkinspeter | 5 years ago
4 likes

hawkinspeter wrote:

The problem with this crowd-funding is that the money raised is going to end up going to either the izombie ped or her lawyers.

I'd be happier if the cyclist donated all his assets to a relation/friend and then declared bankruptcy so that the money-grabbing pedestrian gets nothing.

 

But then he'd end up with a year in bankruptcy and 6 years of poor credit rating on top of the 4 years Rob and family have had this over their head.

Not worth it. If the crowd funding pays his legal bills then great, we've saved him another 6 years of shit.

Avatar
Jackson | 5 years ago
3 likes

Glad this poor bloke is being helped out.

This case highlights the benefits of a govt run no-fault system like in New Zealand (the ACC). If you get injured you can't sue an at-fault party for treatment costs / time off work but this is met by the scheme. In effect your treatment and salary is crowdfunded from every worker in NZ. I think this has prevented the emergence of a lawsuit culture like the USA and increasingly now the UK. It also cuts out the middleman (100k in legal fees to sort out 8k worth of claims, plus paying the judge and court costs).

Avatar
squidgy replied to Jackson | 5 years ago
1 like
Jackson wrote:

Glad this poor bloke is being helped out.

This case highlights the benefits of a govt run no-fault system like in New Zealand (the ACC). If you get injured you can't sue an at-fault party for treatment costs / time off work but this is met by the scheme. In effect your treatment and salary is crowdfunded from every worker in NZ. I think this has prevented the emergence of a lawsuit culture like the USA and increasingly now the UK. It also cuts out the middleman (100k in legal fees to sort out 8k worth of claims, plus paying the judge and court costs).

I feel sorry the guy and the disastrous financial position he has been left in, whilst the pedestrian walks away financially better off.
However, the way I interpet the incident from the reports I have to agree that he is in part liable. Not sure 50/50, but liable in part.
With that I'm off to renew my cycling insurance.

Avatar
Jackson replied to squidgy | 5 years ago
5 likes

squidgy wrote:
Jackson wrote:

Glad this poor bloke is being helped out.

This case highlights the benefits of a govt run no-fault system like in New Zealand (the ACC). If you get injured you can't sue an at-fault party for treatment costs / time off work but this is met by the scheme. In effect your treatment and salary is crowdfunded from every worker in NZ. I think this has prevented the emergence of a lawsuit culture like the USA and increasingly now the UK. It also cuts out the middleman (100k in legal fees to sort out 8k worth of claims, plus paying the judge and court costs).

I feel sorry the guy and the disastrous financial position he has been left in, whilst the pedestrian walks away financially better off. However, the way I interpet the incident from the reports I have to agree that he is in part liable. Not sure 50/50, but liable in part. With that I'm off to renew my cycling insurance.

 

Sure, but the penalty for cycling a bit carelessly contributing (in some interpretations) to a minor injury should not be bankruptcy. The treatment costs should be borne by the healthcare system and any crimnal charge should be dealt with in the criminal system. In this case the only winners were the lawyers. And the answer shouldn't be simply "get 3rd party insurance" because that's basically a tax on everyone who rides a bike which ends up being paid out to lawyers.

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