East Ham biker wins �3.3m in crash damages

A restaurant manager who was catastrophically injured when he was knocked off his bike by a lorry has won a �3.35 million damages payout at the High Court.

Luca Meluziis, 37, from East Ham, suffered life-changing injuries when riding his bike through the Limehouse Link Tunnel, in east London, in November 2008.

Mr Meluziis, who had written on a social networking website about his love for his Yamaha R6, was struck by an almost fully laden Hino four-axle tipper truck, registered to an east London transport company.

He was lucky to survive, but now needs to use a wheelchair after sustaining brain and spinal cord damage and massive internal injuries.

His disabilities are such that it is extremely difficult for him to visit his family on the Italian island of Capri, parts of which are almost completely inaccessible for people in wheelchairs.

Following the accident, his representatives sued the insurers of the lorry which hit him and today won the seven-figure payout at the High Court in London.

Approving the lump-sum damages payout, Judge Michael Yelton said the relatively early settlement of the claim was “in his best interests”.

The judge said he had been unusually moved by a letter from Mr Meluziis’ brother telling of the difficulties the family had encountered due to the inaccessibility of their island home.

At the time of the smash, Mr Meluziis was working as a manager of a branch of Zizzi in London and wrote on his WAYN social networking page of his love for the city he had called home since 1999.

“I love to ride my Yamaha R6 and feel the wind that touch my body,” he added.