Our road traffic accident solicitors helped a 94-year-old woman make a successful compensation claim after she was hit by a car while crossing the road.
Mary*, a 94-year-old widow, lived a very independent life. She enjoyed socialising with friends and seeing her two daughters regularly. She also often walked to the local shops in her area to buy her own groceries, which is something she looked forward to every week.
In March 2018, Mary was on her way to the shops as usual. While she was crossing the road, she was hit by a car that was driving in the middle of the road instead of in the correct lane.
A local hairdresser saw the accident and ran to help Mary. He stayed with her until an ambulance arrived because Mary couldn’t get up.
Once the ambulance arrived, the paramedics called Mary’s daughters and took Mary to hospital. The paramedics were concerned because Mary had suffered a head injury and she had a bad cut on her head.
Mary had an X-ray which showed two fractured ribs. Doctors also did a CT scan which showed Mary had bleeding on her brain. The cut across her forehead also caused slight nerve damage to her left eye causing it to droop slightly. Some of her fingers were also fractured.
Mary had to stay in hospital for a few weeks because she was struggling to walk and this meant she couldn’t be alone at home. Mary finally went home in April but she wasn’t as independent as she used to be. She needed to use a walking frame or a wheel chair to get around. She also needed chair for the shower because she couldn’t wash standing up anymore.
The whole experience had changed Mary’s life. She went from being independent and living alone, to having to rely on her daughters for everything like making food and washing herself.
The accident also affected Mary’s mental state. She became very anxious to be alone and was afraid to go outside too. She also didn’t feel like socialising as much as she used to because she felt very tired most of the time.
How We Helped
Mary and her daughters contacted us to see if we could help them claim compensation from the driver’s insurers. Mary needed extra medical care like physiotherapy and special equipment to help her around the house. Compensation would help her pay for these things.
Our personal injury team, led by Jack Sales, investigated the incident and gathered evidence to make a claim for Mary.
We arranged for an Immediate Needs Assessment (INA) to assess what care needs and equipment Mary needed now, and in future. This helped us get interim payments which covered Mary’s immediate costs while we continued with her full claim.
Jack also arranged expert medical appointments for Mary to get independent medical advice on Mary’s injuries and support the claim. It was clear from this evidence that the accident would affect Mary’s health and ability to be independent for the rest of her life.
The driver admitted full responsibility but he wasn’t the insured driver for the car. However, we still negotiated a settlement of just under £80,000 from the insurers, which was much more than Mary was expecting. Mary and her family were also delighted that the claim didn’t have to go to court.
Jack said:
“What [Mary] went through was very traumatic and it’s changed her entire life. She can’t be independent anymore and needs extra help and care needs. I’m really glad we could help her through this and her settlement will definitely help her and her family pay for her extra needs.”
If you or a loved one has suffered from a serious injury, contact our team today. Call us on 0370 1500 100.
*Not client’s real name
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