‘No justice’: Lime refuse to compensate woman left with two spinal fractures after being hit by child on e-bike

The partner of a woman who was left needing multiple surgeries after she was hit by a child on a Lime bike has called the company’s decision not to compensate her “so unfair”.

Jane Ouartsi suffered a broken femur, fractured collarbone, and two spinal fractures after a child riding a Lime bike ploughed into her in a pedestrianised square in central London in August 2023.

The rider, who is believed to have been around 10, stopped initially but was later taken away from the scene by his mother, according to Ms Ouartsi’s partner Dave Mathias. He said police later closed the investigation.

The couple had enjoyed a meal out and seen an art exhibition before Ms Ouartsi was suddenly struck by the bike, according to Mr Mathias: “The Lime bike just came out of nowhere at great speed and ploughed straight into Jane,” he told The Independent. “It happened so fast. I turned to see Jane fall to the ground and it seemed like slow motion. She was screaming in pain.”

Ms Ouartsi suffered multiple fractures was hospitalised for 28 days and left living out of the couple’s living room for over a year while she relearned to walk, Mr Mathias, 63, said. He told The Independent the incident has been “very difficult to come to terms with” for Ms Ouartsi, who he described as “not who she was”.

“Even if we go to the local cafe, if she sees a bike she freezes,” he said. “If she hears anything with wheels on it, even a case being pulled, she freezes. It’s very upsetting to see.”

The couple, who are based in Chelsea, reported the incident to Lime, but say they were told the ride could not be traced and therefore there was “nothing they could do”.

Meanwhile, Mr Mathias estimates he has racked up losses of more than £15,000 from having to take time off of work to care for Ms Ouartsi, as well as in taxi fares to the hospital and back, and adjustments the pair have had to make to their lives.

Nearly three years after the incident, Ms Ouartsi is still unable to walk unaided and both her and Mr Mathias continue to suffer emotional and mental distress from the trauma.

He is calling on Lime to introduce better safeguards on their e-bikes in pedestrian areas, and to pay “substantial” compensation to Ms Ouartsi to ensure she can live comfortably despite her injuries.

“The upshot of it really is that they’ve done nothing,” he said. “I’m incredibly angry. It’s so unfair.”

He has also reached out to Sadiq Khan’s office to ask for the bikes to be better regulated in London under the English Devolution Bill, which recently received royal assent. This could give the mayor’s office the power to implement restrictions on dockless e-bikes, which are currently under the remit of local authorities.

A Lime spokesperson said: “Our thoughts are with Jane and her family, and we are sorry for the distress this incident has caused. We take incidents like this extremely seriously.

“This situation has been carefully reviewed and handled in line with our policies. Safety informs everything we do at Lime – from how we design and maintain our vehicles, to our rider education, and how we work with cities.”