Champion triathlete Patrick Harfield is suing the owner of a Cayman real estate company for causing him injuries after their bikes collided during a cycling race three years ago.
Lawyers representing Harfield have issued James Bovell of Bovell RE/MAX a writ of summons through the Grand Court’s civil division, demanding undisclosed damages.
The 45-year-old plaintiff, in the document dated 5 Sept. 2023, claims the crash was due to negligence and that it caused him to suffer “personal injury, loss and damage”.
Bovell has two weeks to decide whether he wants to defend the matter in court.
Loss of control
The incident took place during a 10-mile time trial cycling event in East End on 6 Sept. 2020, in which both of the men were participating, the writ says.
The starting line was 1.2 miles east of Frank Sound Road. During the race, the competitors travelled east for five miles, then back west for five miles – finishing where they began.
Each competitor set off at one-minute intervals. Harfield, who was one of the fastest competitors, started second to last, while Bovell was already on the course.
At about 8:15am, Harfield, a coach and personal trainer at Cayman Tri Training, was heading east at about 28 miles per hour while the defendant was travelling in the opposite direction.
According to the writ, the realtor lost control, veered off the side of the road and fell to the ground, letting go of his bicycle.
The bike then travelled across both lanes of the road and “bounced in front of the plaintiff’s bicycle causing a collision and the plaintiff to be thrown from his bicycle”.
Multiple injuries
Harfield went to Cayman Islands Hospital in George Town where he was told he had bruising and abrasions to his right shoulder, elbow, hip and knee, and to his left hand and shoulder.
He was also unable to extend his right arm, the writ says, and he underwent “numerous” X-rays as well as being referred for a CT scan of his right elbow.
The plaintiff’s lawyers say in the writ that his arm was placed in a sling, and he was given prescriptions for pain relief and a sick note.
After leaving hospital, the athlete underwent a six-week course of physiotherapy. He has been left with scarring to his body and continued restriction of his elbow, the writ says.
It adds that further particulars of the plaintiff’s injuries and treatment, along with associated financial losses, will be provided at a later date in a schedule of damages.
Negligence claim
Harfield claims that the accident was caused by negligence because the defendant failed to keep a proper look out, and failed to maintain his bicycle on the road.
He also said Bovell failed to apply his brakes “whether in time or at all” and failed to steer or control his bicycle.
Harfield is relying on ‘res ipsa loquitur’ (the thing speaks for itself), according to the writ, which means he can offer circumstantial evidence and does not have to prove outright the defendant was negligent.
The triathlete from George Town is claiming damages – which include medical treatment, loss of earnings, equipment and gratuitous care (that provided by friends and family) – as well as interest and costs.
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