£4.5m Planet X compensation case highlights bike standards

This week, ahead of a five-day trial due to commence at the High Court, Mr Justice Ritchie approved and sealed a £4.5 million settlement order for a severely injured NHS resident doctor. Among the details was an emphasis on bike standards and testing.

Dr Daniel Gordon, an experienced cyclist, sustained a life-changing spinal cord injury when the front forks of a Planet X Tempest SRAM Force 1 titanium bike sheared in two on a grass slope in Inverness in August 2020. The ensuing crash resulted in Dr Gordon being paralysed. He has been left with no neurological function in his legs or trunk (T4 complete paraplegia) and will be dependent on a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Dr Gordon brought his claim initially against the seller of the bicycle, Planet X, but following its insolvency in 2023, Stewarts identified and pursued the claim against Planet X’s insurers Arch Insurance (UK) Limited and Chubb European Group SE.

Bike standards, testing… and marketing

While there is plenty in the case worth studying by the industry at large, the resolution of court proceedings had some particularly interesting things to say on “the lack of uniformity as to how gravel bikes are tested, categorised and advertised in the UK”. Likewise a lack of clear international standards heavily hinted that the industry may have some way to get its house in order. That broad topic is an area CIN has touched on lately, not least in a special podcast dedicated to standards and testing.

This case touched on marketing too: Planet X described the £2,300 gravel bike purchased by Dr Gordon in 2020 as a “go-anywhere” bicycle that is “lively on the road but confident enough to play MTB on the trails”, and stated “the only thing Tempest doesn’t have is limits”.  This was illustrated by photos on Planet X’s website at the time showing the bike being ridden in rocky mountainous terrain. Throughout the case, the defendant suggested that such advertisement was mere “marketing puff” and should not have been relied upon by Dr Gordon.

During the proceedings, the case was defended partly on the basis that an American standard of classification for bikes (ASTM) applied to Dr Gordon’s bike. The ASTM categorisation applied to gravel bikes by some other manufacturers suggested their bikes should not be ridden over any jumps or drops of more than 15cm. However, Planet X’s website made no mention of the ASTM categorisation, nor did any manuals or instructions for the Tempest bike sold to Dr Gordon impose any restrictions on use. “It is notable when looking across the gravel bike industry that even when manufacturers and sellers apply ASTM categorisation, this information is rarely prominently displayed and is probably not spotted by most purchasers,” noted statements on the case, adding: “The growing popularity of gravel bikes has not yet translated into clear international testing standards, in contrast to the long-standing BS ISO 4210 testing standards for road and mountain bikes and forks. Even BS ISO 4210 testing does not include a test for compressive forces, nor is there any express requirement for manufacturers to conduct any form of field testing of real world cycling before a bike is deemed fit for sale.”

Resolution

During the court proceedings, testing by the parties’ respective experts found that the carbon fibre forks on Dr Gordon’s bicycle were materially thinner and weaker than two exemplar forks provided by the manufacturer, Huizhou FlyBike Sports Equipment Co Ltd.

Just days before the start of the trial, following negotiations between the parties, it was agreed that Dr Gordon should receive a settlement in the sum of £4.5m, treated as 50% of the full value of his claim. The settlement includes provision for Dr Gordon to return to court and seek further damages in the event he experiences a rare but serious and untreatable deterioration caused by a spinal cyst.

Dr Gordon instructed Stewarts International Injury partner Julian Chamberlayne and senior associate James Griffin to bring proceedings in the English High Court.