Asif Ahmed from Greenwich left paralysed is in line for more than £3m payout

November 11, 2016

Asif Ahmed, 47, was injured when he went over the handlebars of his bike
He was riding on a slope in Surrey under the tuition of Leon MacLean
The front wheel got jammed in a grassy mound and he injured his spine
Judge ruled instructor did not fully assess Mr Ahmed’s skill level

Rebecca Taylor For Mailonline

Published:
13:14 EST, 10 November 2016

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Updated:
13:48 EST, 10 November 2016

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Asif Ahmed was paralysed when he went over the handlebars of his mountain bike when on a beginners’ course

A solicitor who was paralysed after going over the handlebars of his bike on a beginners’ mountain bike course has won his High Court damages action.

Asif Ahmed, 47, of Greenwich, south east London, paid £79 for six hours of tuition starting from Holmbury St Mary in Surrey in March 2012.

Before the course, he had been a fit man, going to the gym three to four times a week and playing cricket at the weekends.

He had owned a mountain bike for 12 years, but was a novice when it came to mountain bike skills.

Mr Ahmed cycled up Holmbury Hill but came off when the front wheel jammed in a grassy mound as he rode down a steep slope on a route known as Barry Knows Best and landed on the ground, injuring his spine.

He brought proceedings against instructor Leon MacLean, of Norwich, who denied liability.

In London on Thursday, Mr Justice Jeremy Baker allowed Mr Ahmed’s claim but said he was 20 per cent to blame for what happened.

Leon MacLean was the instructor on the course and denied liability for the accident which left Mr Ahmed paralysed. A judge ruled he should be liable for 80 per cent of what happened

He said that Mr MacLean was liable in that the accident was caused by his failure to carry out the tuition with reasonable skill and care so as to enable Mr Ahmed to ride down the slope in safety.

Having failed to carry out an adequate assessment of Mr Ahmed’s individual skill level at the start, he progressed the tuition to the group without sufficient regard to his capabilities.

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Mr Ahmed’s mountain biking experience ‘was significantly greater than one might have been led to believe’, his lawyer said

The judge said that Mr Ahmed should have appreciated that he lacked the ability to ride down the slope safely or been sufficiently concerned for his own safety to warrant raising the matter with Mr MacLean.

He acknowledged the ‘considerable dignity’ shown by Mr Ahmed who attended the trial in a wheelchair and that his adverse findings about Mr MacLean’s tuition related to a course which took place over four years ago.

He said: ‘I am aware that since then the defendant has continued to provide mountain bike instruction and training, and have no reason to believe that he has done so in anything but a satisfactory manner.’

The hearing was only concerned with liability and the amount of damages will be assessed at a later stage if not agreed.