Cyclist’s £50k claim over tram-track fall

A NURSE injured when she fell off her bike is to be one of two lead cases in actions brought by cyclists over Edinburgh’s trams.

Elizabeth Fairley said she dislocated her jaw and injured a knee after she lost control of her bicycle when a wheel slipped on the tram line and became caught in it.

She is suing Edinburgh Trams and the city council for £50,000 after she fell on her approach to Haymarket station as she travelled westwards on October 16, 2013 – four days after the junction had reopened to traffic.

The 56-year-old, from Edinburgh, who had been a keen ballet dancer, claims there were ‘numerous incidents’ of cyclists slipping or falling on this section of the line due to having to cross at an acute angle.

It is maintained that after her accident remedial measures were introduced to reduce the risk to cyclists.

Lawyers acting for the advanced nurse practitioner, who works at Edinburgh’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children, claim the number of cycle accidents in the capital is ‘significantly greater’ than in other cities with trams or light rail systems.

She is suing for damages for her pain and suffering and clothing replacement costs.

Ian Lowdean raised a £15,000 claim after he was injured when he fell on Princes Street in the city on October 22, 2012.

Liability is contested. The council said the presence of the tram lines was or ought to have been obvious to all careful road users.

It is said: ‘They were clearly visible and did not present a significant risk of an accident to any careful cyclist exercising reasonable care.’

Following a brief hearing at the Court of Session, Lord Boyd of Duncansby set an eight-day hearing in May 2019 for the two cases and agreed to put a further 39 actions on hold until September that year.