This is the dramatic moment a cyclist nearly died after being hit head-on by an uninsured e-bike rider in southwest London.
Father-of-two Mohamed Ressum, 44, suffered a brain injury and was “eight hours from death” following the collision with a Forest electric cycle in Surbiton.
But Mr Ressum was stunned when he was told that users of the dockless bike hire company do not have public liability insurance – because, under the law, they are not required to.
He is now calling for a change in the legislation to protect other road users and pedestrians.
Builder Mr Ressum has been unable to claim compensation for his injuries and loss of earnings.
His solicitors Osbornes Law are urging Forest, which has over 14,000 bicycles across 18 boroughs, to “do the right thing” and agree a financial settlement.
But a spokeswoman for the e-bike operator told the Standard its insurance only covers incidents arising from a mechanical fault or failure of bikes, not reckless behaviour.
Mr Ressum said: “Surgeons told me I was eight hours from death. This accident has changed my life forever.
“To make things even worse Forest are only insured if one of their bikes hits a car, but not people. How can that be allowed? It has meant I can’t get compensation from them even though I suffered terrible injuries and I cannot work.
“This is outrageous. There needs to be a change in the law to protect people who get hurt by these bikes. Nobody knows that if you are hit by a Forest bike then you are in serious trouble and won’t get any support.
“It’s a disgrace. I have received no justice.”
CCTV shows Mr Ressum riding along a dual cycle lane near his home when a boy on a Forest e-bike came around the corner on the wrong side and at speed, smashing into him in June this year.
Mr Ressum, who also suffered broken ribs, added: “I was hit really suddenly and knocked over with force. I smashed my head and lay on the pavement for several minutes before anybody even came over to check on me.
“The pain in my head was excruciating but I was told to sit in A&E for hours.
“When I finally had a scan a bleed on my brain was found and I was blue lighted to another hospital for surgery. Afterwards I was told I had been hours away from death.
“Before the accident I was easy going and now I am terrified of a lot of things like walking under trees or seeing a bike. I wake up with a headache like I have been drinking all night, suffer nightmares and I can’t work on building sites. It’s changed me completely.
“Bike hire riders should be compelled by law to have insurance to protect other people. Children are riding these bikes and they aren’t protected. This needs to change now as I don’t want anybody else to go through what I have suffered.”
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Laura Swaine, partner at Osbornes Law who represents Mohamed, said: “It is completely inconceivable that companies that hire out heavy e-bikes that move at speed do not have to take out public liability insurance but that is the unfortunate reality. The law needs be changed to reflect the risk the huge number of hired E-bikes pose to unsuspecting members of the public.
“People who suffer terrible life changing injuries like my client mist be able to access fair compensation to reflect their loss and I would urge Forest to do the right thing and offer him a financial settlement to help him rebuild his life.”
Forest said: “We are deeply saddened about this accident, and our thoughts are with the individuals involved.
“In line with most of the industry, Forest has comprehensive public liability insurance which covers incidents arising from a mechanical fault or failure of our bikes.
“Our focus is on maintaining our bikes to the highest possible safety standards and helping riders use them safely and with care.
“The vast majority of Forest riders use our service considerately, and all new users complete in-app safety training before their first journey.
“While we do everything we can to encourage and support good riding behaviour, cyclists ultimately have a duty to follow the rules of the road and ride safely.”
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