The mountain bike skills instructor in the UK who was sued by a paralyzed student has lost the case, with the judge deeming him “80% to blame.”
According to an article in the Eastern Daily Press,
Mr MacLean had given Mr Ahmed false confidence in his abilities despite warning signs that the hill would be too much for him.
Finding the instructor 80pc to blame, the judge said he had “failed to carry out his tuition with reasonable skill and care.”
Having already been slowly down the hill once, Mr Ahmed was sent down again and Mr MacLean “encouraged him to do so at speed.”
Mr Ahmed, the judge ruled, was 20pc responsible for his own misfortune in failing to raise doubts about his own abilities.
As an adult with some biking experience, he had not “abdicated complete responsibility for his own safety” to Mr MacLean.
He may also have felt “peer pressure” from other students to head down the toughest part of the hill, rather than take an easier “chicken route.”
At this time it’s not completely clear how much of the £4 million amount the paralyzed student will receive, although current estimates put the payout amount at over £3 million, or $3,777,750 USD at current exchange rates.
