Woman hit by child on Lime bike denied compensation, says Guardian

newsJul 7, 20261074

On a Friday evening in early August three years ago Jane Ouartsi, in her late 60s, was struck in a central London pedestrianised square by a hired Lime bike ridden by a young rider described as possibly around 10, leaving her with a fractured collarbone, two spinal fractures and a badly broken femur that required three operations. Ouartsi spent 36 days in hospital and then about 18 months relearning to walk, with ambulance staff carrying her into her first-floor flat and her partner, Dave Mathias, taking extended leave to install grab handles and help with recovery. The couple say Lime has not paid compensation and has not responded to their calls to take action against underage or reckless riders; a CCTV clip of the collision circulated widely last week. Medical staff at the central London hospital told Ouartsi that severe e-bike injuries like hers are becoming more common and were treating similar cases more frequently. Ouartsi, a retired Marks & Spencer shop worker, says the incident has left her changed physically and emotionally and that she cannot bear to watch the footage of the impact. The couple continue to press Lime for accountability and for measures to stop illegal and dangerous use of hired e-bikes on pavements.

Rich

@hoxtonrich.bsky.social

This sounds awful & I definitely think Lime should be much more accountable… but… when are we going to get a ‘something must be done’ piece about the 42 pedestrians killed & 100+ seriously injured every year on the pavement by cars? #Motonormativity www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

413h ago

Real Gaz on a proper bike: [email protected]13

The annoying thing is that if she had been hit by a driver with the same amount of injuries, she'd be lucky to be on page 6 of the local rag, not a national paper. Amused by their naive thoughts that printing rules of use on line bikes will solve things when th bike was being used illegally.

Dr. Lesley Barron, MD, MPhil, FRACS1

The media bias/blind spot is very real.

🔞Mx Wred's haunted brain 🎂 4 days remain1

There's not a paper published by Scott Trust Limited that isn't oil & gas propaganda first.

ellie lockhart (she/they)

@eleanor.lockhart.contact

(Like also does a lot of research on bike safety and lobbying for bike lanes fwiw, some local YIMBY blogs use them as research data sources. I think their community impact is very positive. But then, I ride Lime scooters regularly and vandalism is the most frequent reason they’re unusable)

17Yesterday

Rob Manuel

@robmanuel.b3ta.com

Also I had a go on a Lime Bike the other day and it charged me over £10 for 28 mins and fuck off basically, best oil my chain, pump up the tyres and get my actual bike roadworthy.

1121h ago

Rob Manuel19

OK fixed pedals. Now feel I could fix anything. Peace in the middle-east, Brexit, tabs vs spaces.

EREIAMJH2

Half hour on a Santander bike: £1.65. The only catch other than having to pedal, is the coverage area didn't reach as far as I really needed.

Paul Murphy

@paulmurphy.bsky.social

This confusingly from the Guardian on a Lime bike victim I don’t think we should be banning anything, especially as these e-bikes & scooters are so useful But we need rules - & an obvious one is to take ALL motorised transport off the pavement & keep pedestrians safe #R4today

32h ago

John Ready

@john-ready.bsky.social

‘I felt my spine and body split’: the woman who was hit by a child on a Lime bike – and denied compensation Hire bikes, accounted for 32% of cyclist v pedestrian crashes attended by police in London in 2024 Wonder what Sydney figures are? www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

2h ago

ianbonnar3.bsky.social

@ianbonnar3.bsky.social

There's a terrible story on the Guardian website about a woman who was hit by a Lime Bike used inappropriately. It's awful how she has been treated subsequently.

12h ago

SilverArrows47

@silverarrows47.bsky.social

No wonder I can't find a Lime bike or scooter. /s 🤣

17h ago

Grumpy Brummie 🔶💻🏉🎵🍺🕵️‍♂️

@grumpybrummie.bsky.social

So what if the bike was used "illegally" Lime need to face up to their responsibility. A company that turns well over £100 million a year in the UK should be doing more. You just can't just wash your hands of it and throw a out few platitudes with a bit of hand ringing.

2h ago