Deliveroo driver bit off a man's thumb

[Lovelyemma]

I searched and I couldn't see a thread about this.

Aibu to think that there must have been a bit more to this story? I am in no way condoning violence. It was on GMB this morning.

The victim said that his pizza didn't arrive, he saw a pin dropped up the street on the deliveroo app and went out to find the driver. When he found her she refused to hand over the food without the code. At which found he says that she attacked him.

When promoted he did say that he'd pushed the woman and his hand had gone inside her helmet at which point she bit his thumb off.

He has since split up from his partner.

Again, in no way am I condoning violence certainly not on this level, but think there is a bit more to this than a completely unprovoked attack.

No matter how hard I try, I just can’t understand this level of confrontation over a pizza delivery. Wouldn’t you just go back home and call the company to complain and ask for another pizza or your money back?

The bbc article says he was attacked first, she pled guilty and nothing is reported about her acting in self defence.
I feel very sorry for the man, I also really think deliveroo should stop subbing being allowed.

So a strange man approaches a lone woman and demands the food.
Woman asks for the code and man responds by pushing woman hard enough for digit to be near her mouth.
Woman, probably scared, bites hard in self defence.
Man gets what, imo, he deserved.

Well I was trying to imagine my dh or my nearly grown up son getting into this level of altercation over a pizza delivery and I just can't imagine it.

They'd do exactly as you've just said.

The only way I can imagine his hand went into her helmet is if he put his hand round her neck. Or, if it was one of those flip front helmets, maybe he put his hand on her face in the same manner. Maybe that's how he pushed her, got hold of her face or neck and pushed her back.

Exactly.

But saying it breaks talk guidelines apparently.

There must be more to it. If my food was late and I noticed the driver was down the road. I'd give them a few more minutes to find me before going out to find them. If I went to them without my phone, I'd expect them to keep the food until I went back into the house to get my code. I'd hope the driver would walk towards the house with me but i wouldn't say anything if they expected me to get my phone and walk back. At no point would my thumb be anywhere near a drivers face.

My guess is that it was an unfortunate meeting of two aggressive people. He was hangry and annoyed, she was easily provoked and excessively violent.

The problem is that if Deliveroo bans its drivers from employing substitutes, it would have to treat those workers as employees, not self-employed.

Deliveroo aren't going to do this because it would mean they'd have to pay minimum wage, pay employers NI contributions etc... It will hit their profits.

If you object to that - boycott Deliveroo (and all the other companies that profit from the gig economy). The shift to the gig economy is a shitty direction of travel when it comes to workers' rights - the companies don't give a shit as long as they make a profit. See also Uber etc.

It would be very interesting to interview his ex who no doubt was witness to at least part of the incident. I suspect he is not the nicest of men to live with or she'd be supporting him through his ordeal.

Agreed, I did riding for them both and a number of other shitty gig economy works. I don’t know the legal ins and outs ideally a move towards min wage etc would be a win, but I do think the renting out of accounts and subbing is a safety problem that should be looked into, somehow.

Reading the article his thumb was severed and reconstructed with part off his toe, he has no feelings in the thumb and can no longer work as a plumber, in debt etc, split up with his partner.

His life has totally changed over a pizza, I would not have gone looking for the driver but contacted where I ordered from. She was not wrong in not handing over pizza without a code. He must have been upset, her scared and a altercation happened, but the force she must bitten him to cause such damage, her mouth must have been wide open. But she pleaded guilty and not self defence?

So only them 2 knows what happened, I guess his come out now to get sympathy, money? Has a gofundme been set up?

And when the ambulance arrived the deliveroo driver asked
What's up Doc?

Too soon?

" His relationship with his girlfriend, the mother of their newborn daughter, also broke down following the incident."

But i also was wondering why it broke down ? Wouldn't she want to support him after this ordeal.

Based on everything i read so far his life is complete ruined , he is unemployed and in debt and relationship too ruined ..

I don't get the unemployed bit.

I know a man who got a finger shot off in a hunting accident. France - quite common.
He's never stopped working.

How the fuck did his hand get inside her helmet/mouth? Why would she randomly attack him? Why did his partner separate from him over him being assaulted?
I'm afraid this is probably a case of Occam's razor. Violent man is violent to a woman and faces consequences.

I'm glad she managed to leave to be honest as it sounds as though he flipped to physical anger over a mere pizza - I can only imagine what she has seen and doesn't want that around her daughter.

I thought the same
He approached her...not at his address (do we know if he gave the right address?)
He didn't have the code
But she couldn't have bit him unless his hand was inside her helmet.
Seems to me she was the vulnerable one and he was the aggressor.

I was horrified when I saw this but having since read details, I think it was self defence. What sort of man pushes a female delivery driver then tries to remove her crash helmet?

If I felt I was being attacked and all I had were my teeth, I expect instinct would kick in and I’d bite.

Of course I could be completely wrong but I wondered if he tried to take the food, the driver tried to physically stop him and that's how it ended up getting physical.

I agree that the sentencing will be interesting.

Yes my father had accident at factory and his thumb got cut off . He didn't stop working either

I ahve no idea what actually happens but it takes some time and effort to bite a thumb right off

She pleaded guilty to GBH without intent

He is a plumber, I think.

I thought the same watching this morning OP. The scenario itself is a bit odd and it does seem like there must be more to this. Definitely something off about the interview - not suggesting at all that he deserved to lose part of his thumb but the story just seems slightly lacking in details.

No, because I'm aware of the vast difference in violence offences between women and men. This case may well be an outlier, but the numbers are clear.

www.gov.uk/government/statistics/women-and-the-criminal-justice-system-2021/women-and-the-criminal-justice-system-2021