Canadian cyclist's C$20 million lawsuit against race organisers

A Canadian cyclist who sustained serious brain injuries after crashing in his first amateur race is suing the event organisers for around £13m.

Christopher Uy, 32, formerly head chef at a luxury hotel in Toronto, has undergone a profound personality change and suffers from poor short-term memory as a result of injuries sustained during the Hamilton [Ontario] Cycling Club’s Good Friday Road Race last year.

Mr Uy was riding in a group that suddenly bunched and as he braked he went over his handlebars. The head injuries he suffered kept him in hospital for three-and-a-half months and may well have caused permanent damage to his brain.

Along with his partner, Christine James, Mr Uy is suing the Hamilton Cycling Club and its governing body, the Ontario Cycling Association for C$20 million on the grounds that the race took place under unsafe conditions.

Mr Uy, 32, continues to undergo treatment for his brain injuries and has not been able to return to work. He told thespec.com: “I feel completely different in my head. I feel completely different with my family and my son. I’m scared sometimes, scared of my memory and the thoughts that I get.”

His was one of around a dozen crashes in the 200-participant race which took place on an 18.5-kilometre partially-closed road which kept the riders in a single lane.

Mr Uy’s lawsuit claims that the Hamilton Cycling Club and Ontario Cycling Association:
• permitted an unreasonable amount of participants in the race such that the race course posed a danger to due to congestion;
• failed to properly plan and organize the race course when they knew or ought to have known that the race course posed a risk of injury or harm to participants;
• failed to implement and adhere to international standards for the organization and operation of the race;
• failed to warn or adequately warn Christopher Uy of the potential danger of participating in the race;

Christine James said one of the family’s main motivations for filing the suit is to make the race safer. “Nobody needs to through what I’ve gone through and will continue to go through for the rest of our lives,” she said. “We’re devastated financially and we’re struggling.”

This year’s event will go ahead but organisers say any changes are not designed to make it safer, but rather to make to different to previous editions.