Tim Kirfield, Senior Associate, and his team at Moore Barlow are pleased to have reached settlement for a young girl hit by a car whilst crossing the road.
Background of the case
When we were first instructed, the facts of the case sounded straightforward in that the our client and her friends had been out playing on a local common and they were making their way home for dinner. Our client chose to cross the road and in doing so, was hit by the Defendant driver. Our client was 11 at the time of the collision.
Following review of the Defendant’s dashcam footage, which was provided at a very early stage by the Defendant insurer, it came to light that the group of friends chose to cross the road at an undesignated crossing and our client’s presence at the side of the road had been obscured by her friend and some tree’s foliage. The footage also revealed that our client had run into the road at speed and was only just clipped by the front offside of the Defendant’s vehicle.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, liability was denied and therefore, advice n prospects was sought from Counsel, Catherine Peck at 12 King’s Bench Walk Chambers and expert accident reconstruction evidence was commissioned. Upon detailed analysis and review, the Defendant’s dashcam footage showed that the Defendant had been travelling at marginally over the speed limit and given the Defendant driver was local and should have been alert to the likely presence of pedestrians at that location. As a result, the case was progressed.
Injuries
Due to the liability issues, the Defendant Insurers would not engage with rehabilitation so our client was largely reliant upon the NHS and they did a fantastic job, especially given the severity of the injuries:
- Intracranial haemorrhage
- Right occipital fracture
- Fracture of the skull
- Left comminuted extracapsular neck of femur fracture
- Various fractures of the pelvis
- Left proximal humerus fracture
- C2/3 anterolisthesis with compression fractures of T3 and T5
- Left upper lobe collapse
Our client was incredibly resilient and she was able to return to school having had very little time off (the collision having happened at the start of the summer holidays. Medico-legal evidence was obtained in the fields of neurology and orthopaedics and remarkable, the prognosis was very good for our client’s injuries.
Settlement
Based on the disputed liability position, the case was being progressed with a view to issuing Court proceedings to determine the issue of liability but before we were able to do so, the Defendant’s Solicitors made an offer of settlement.
Having considered all of the facts of the case and the liability position, our client, through her litigation friend, was advised to accept the offer and this was subsequently approved by the Court, the settlement being paid into Court until our client turns 18.
This was a very difficult case. On the face of it, liability should have been straight forward but the presence of the dashcam footage was undoubtedly invaluable. We were confident primary liability would have been found in our client’s favour but litigation is always a risk. I was very pleased to have reached settlement which reflected both the liability position and the value of the claim. Above all else, I am pleased with the recovery my client made, given the life changing nature of her injuries.
Tim Kirfield, Senior Associate | Major Trauma
