Paralysed cyclist set for £3m+ damages from mountain biking instructor after winning High Court case

A cyclist left paralysed following a crash during a beginners’ mountain bike course he was participating in is set to win major damages from the instructor leading the training following a High Court ruling.

Solicitor Asif Ahmed, aged 47 and from Greenwich, had paid £79 to take part in the course in the Surrey Hills, led by instructor Leon MacLean from Norwich in March 2012.

Last month, the court heard that Mr Ahmed had landed on his head after hitting what his counsel Frank Burton told the court " looked like a clumpy, grassy piece of ground."

> Man left paralysed by cycling accident sues mountain bike instructor for £4m

The cyclist, described by Mr Burton as "not a thrill seeker," will spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair and had claimed £4 million in damages from Mr MacLean.

Mr Justice Jeremy Baker found that the qualified instructor was 80 per cent at fault for the incident, which happened on a steep descent of Holmbury Hill known as “Barry Knows Best,” reports the Eastern Daily Press.

He said that “novice rider” Mr Ahmed “should have been warned” not to attempt the route, which was “beyond his capacity to ride down safely.”

As a result, the judge said that Mr MacLean had put Mr Ahmed at “a serious risk of harm” and that he had “failed to carry out his tuition with reasonable skill and care.”

He acknowledged that Mr MacLean was an “enthusiastic, easy-going” instructor but had “a tendency to be over-optimistic” about the ability of some of those he taught, and that he had not sought to assess the skill levels of members of the group beforehand.

Mr Ahmed had already ridden the route slowly before tackling it a second time, with Mr MacLean having “encouraged him to do so at speed,” the judge said.

But he also found Mr Ahmed 20 per cent liable for contributory negligence, since he had not raised concerns about his ability, possibly because of “peer pressure” from others present to tackle the more difficult route, rather than an easier option.

Damages are yet to be assessed, but are reported to be likely to be upwards of £3 million.