A motorcyclist from Wimbledon is to take legal action against two schoolgirls who he claims caused a motorcycle accident in which he was badly injured.
Dennis Porter, 60, alleges he was forced to swerve to avoid teenagers Charlotte Humphries and Gemma McMillan when they stepped off the kerb into moving traffic in 2008.
Mr Porter avoided the sixth-formers but skidded into a transit van, leaving him a quadriplegic. He has subsequently launched a compensation claim for £300,000.
Mr Porter’s injury lawyers have said the incident has left him needing care for the rest of his life.
According to the writ issued to the High Court, both girls were guilty of negligence for failing to use a crossing, walking into the path of an oncoming motorbike, and crossing the road in an unsafe way.
The writ also states that the girls were travelling home from school on June 30th.
It continues: “Instead of walking further north to use the pedestrian crossing, the defendants walked south along the eastern footway until they were almost opposite [Miss Humphries' address] and then attempted to cross the road between slow-moving traffic.
“Two motorcycles passed [Miss Humphries] who then moved to the offside and began to filter past motor cars while, nevertheless remaining on his own side of the road.
“He was aware there was a 30mph speed limit and he negotiated a left hand bend appropriately and within a the speed limit before straightening up.
“As he did so the defendants suddenly and without warning emerged from between slow moving traffic from the right and established themselves past the white centre line in the claimant’s path, unable to proceed through the northbound traffic.
“The claimant immediately engaged his brakes and swerved so as to avoid striking the defendants. He missed them but instead skidded in to the path of an oncoming Ford Transit van, whereby he sustained catastrophic injuries.”
