A man in a wheelchair suffered a serious head injury after his wheelchair toppled over inside a Bristol taxi.
The taxi driver, who has had his licence revoked, pushed the man into the back of his cab and put his wheelchair’s brake on but failed to secure it.
During the journey, the wheelchair toppled backwards and the man suffered a head injury. He had to go to hospital and underwent a CT scan to check for serious damage, and was treated in hospital.
The incident, which happened earlier this year, came to light after a complaint was made to Bristol City Council and details were discussed at a council committee held to review the taxi driver’s licence.
Councillors on the city council’s Public Safety and Protection Committee heard the driver, who has not been named, had a ‘lengthy previous history’, according to the Neighbourhood Enforcement Officer who gave evidence to the committee.
The committee decided to revoke the taxi driver’s licence revoked with immediate effect.
A spokesperson for the Neighbourhood Enforcement Team said: “Earlier this year a complaint was made to the council about the driver’s failure to secure a wheelchair in his taxi which, it was alleged, resulted in a serious accident.
“Officers found that the driver, instead of securely strapping the wheel chair, had simply put the wheel chair brake on and, as a consequence, during the journey the wheelchair toppled backwards and the passenger using the wheelchair injured his head.
“The passenger had to go to hospital and required a CT scan,” she added
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