A biker who was seriously injured after driving over a newly installed water culvert that had been upturned by passing traffic, is calling on the authorities “for one last time” to shoulder responsibility.

According to 25-year old Andrea Camilleri, he was riding his 125cc motorcycle through Triq il-Wied, linking Naxxar to Iklin, on July 23.

For weeks, the road's residents had complained about the long drawn out roadworks and ensuing inconvenience. On that July evening, one of the newly installed water culverts was knocked out of place by a car driving in front of the motorcyclist who, consequently,  had very little time to avert the danger.

As his wheel drove through the open culvert, Camilleri was flung off his bike, landing on the hard tarmac surface. 

He ended up suffering multiple injuries, including serious ones to his hands and face, the man’s lawyers said in a judicial protest filed after several calls to the authorities to shoulder responsibility proved futile. 

"The accident was caused solely as a result of the negligence and incompetence of those tasked with carrying out the roadworks in such a manner as to ensure that these were properly undertaken and caused no danger to road users," his lawyers said.

Yet repeated calls to local transport and infrastructure authorities appeared to have fallen on deaf ears, leaving the injured biker with no option but to take his grievances to court, they said.

Moreover, Infrastructure Malta was now trying to shirk responsibility by arguing that at the time of the accident, the road was considered to be a construction site, they added.

That argument was outright “frivolous,” argued Camilleri’s lawyers, pointing out that that stretch of road had been regularly open to traffic.

The victim had not only suffered damages and expenses as a direct result of that July accident but also a loss of income, said the lawyers, noting further that the traumatic experience had negatively impacted the biker and his family. 

They noted that his life had been turned upside down: he could no longer work or carry on with his life normally, nor  drive or practise sports as he did before.

Camilleri is calling on the Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure Malta and the Transport Authority “for one last time,” to shoulder responsibility for the damages suffered and to do so within 10 days of notice of this judicial act.

The protesting party further reserved the right to take further legal action.

Lawyers Marlon Borg and Ryan Falzon signed the judicial protest.