Sat, Feb 25, 2023 page2

• Bike rider’s lawsuit backfires after he hit a parked vehicle

  • By Huang Liang-chieh and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer
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  A court this month ruled that a man who sued the owner of a parked vehicle that he crashed into on his electric bicycle was responsible for the incident himself.

  A Kaohsiung resident surnamed Hou (侯) was riding his electric bicycle along Kaohsiung’s Boai First Road at about 4pm on March 20 last year when he rode into the back of a double-parked car owned by a woman surnamed Lin (林), the Kaohsiung District Court heard.

  Hou sustained a broken arm, and multiple abrasions and contusions. He sued Lin for negligence causing bodily injury.

  

  The Kaohsiung District Court is pictured in an undated photograph.

  Photo: Taipei Times

  However, the judge ruled that Hou himself was at fault for the incident, saying that the evidence showed Hou had sufficient space to pass the vehicle safely.

  The judge also cited Hou’s own testimony, in which he said he was not used to riding the bicycle.

  Hou had told the court that while speaking with Lin immediately after the crash, he had told her he was “not very good at riding” the bicycle.

  This was corroborated by Hou’s daughter, who told the court that the bicycle was “purchased only recently” and her father “had not gotten used to riding it yet,” court records showed.

  Lin admitted to a parking violation, but argued that her vehicle’s location was not the direct cause of the crash.

  The judge ruled in favor of Lin, finding her not guilty of negligence leading to Hou’s injuries.

  The ruling can be appealed.
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