This resulted in me crashing at around 70mph on a straight road. I cannot remember why I fell off, only that the throttle had got stuck on before I did. I did not want the insurer looking at the bike too closely in case they did not pay out for it. Thankfully, they didn’t and I got paid out for the bike. Thereafter it got sold by them by way of an online auction in June 2022.

About a month ago, the man who purchased it via the auction tracked me down to get some more info on the bike. He also told me that in his opinion a cable had been wrongly routed when he looked at it, and that caused the throttle to stick open sometimes.

I now want to bring a claim against the garage who serviced my bike for causing the accident. I broke my ankle at the time and trashed my kit. What do you think?

Answer

As for bringing a claim, it will be useful for you to know the legal test before we go any further. In England and Wales, you as the claimant has to prove on the ‘balance of probabilities’ that:

  1. The garage has been negligent
  2. Because of that negligence, you have suffered a loss, or will suffer a loss.

If you had spoken to me at the time of the accident, I would have advised you to keep the motorbike and get it inspected by a court compliant engineering expert. If s/he confirmed that the throttle was sticking open due to the work done by the garage, then you would have good evidence to pursue a claim.

However, as the ‘evidence’, i.e. the bike, passed through many hands and was sold, I am of the opinion you would struggle to prove ‘on the balance of probabilities’ that the garage was to blame for your accident.

In simple terms, you no longer have the evidence to prove your case in my opinion. Therefore, I am afraid you don’t have a case and you would lose at court.

Andrew Prendergast

More Bikes February 2023