by Alison Leon
18 November 2010
A Chilean woman who came to London to train as a music therapist was knocked off her bike as she cycled to perform some voluntary work for a charity.
Doris Barrera-Torrico, now 31, almost lost her right leg in December 2007 when she was pinned between two lorries at a busy junction on Holloway Road, north London. Doctors, who feared she would lose the limb, had to perform nine gruelling operations upon it.
Ms Barrera-Torrico made a leg injury compensation claim from the driver of the lorry, alleging that he was negligent in failing to spot her.
"Lorry drivers as well as car drivers need to be aware of cyclists on city roads," she told This is London. "Safer, more aware driving will prevent other people suffering serious injuries like I did.
"Sometimes I want to use my bike or go for a run and it's difficult for me because I know that I can't. My life has changed forever. I have to use crutches to walk now and my leg is deformed.”
She was awarded £280,000 in an out-of-court settlement, after a three-year legal battle.