Brain Damaged Cyclist to Receive Bicycle Accident Compensation

A professional tennis coach and keen cyclist, who was run over by a hit and run driver and suffered terrible brain injuries, is to receive four million pounds in compensation following a judgement in favour of his bicycle accident claim at London´s High Court.

Patrice Gougam (55) from Enfield, Middlesex, had been cycling along the A1000 Barnet to Hatfield road in November 2009 when the accident happened. He was run over by a Land Rover driver by Michael Elliot (66) of Potters Bar, Hertfordshire who drove away from the scene of the accident, unaware of the injury he had caused – only to give himself up on his return journey later in the day.

Patrice suffered catastrophic brain damage which left him in a coma for three weeks. He spent six months at the National Hospital for Neurosurgery and Neurology in Bloomsbury, London, before being transferred to a hospital closer to his home where he remained for a further fifteen months. He now requires round-the-clock care and he is wheelchair bound and unable to feed himself.

Assessing Patrice´s bicycle accident claim, the High Court heard that Michael Elliot had been found guilty of reckless driving, had served eight months in prison and been banned from driving for three years as a result of the accident. Finding in favour of the claimant, the Court awarded four million pounds to Patrice, to be administered by his wife Virginia.