£8.5 Million Compensation Payout For A Pedestrian Hit By A Car Brain Injury

The sections below, present a real-world case study that shows how a young girl was able to secure £8.5 Million Compensation for a serious brain injury. We are going to dissect this claim and look at how it came about, what was claimed for and why, as well as why the claim was a success.

The aim of this case study is to show you how these kinds of claims proceed, so that you can relate the facts back to your own case. If you have any questions about the contents of this case study, please speak to our claims team on 0161 696 9685. They can answer your questions, and also tell you how we can help you to make your own personal injury claim. They can also advise you on how much compensation for a serious brain injury might be an appropriate amount in your own case.

Select A Section:

Details Of The Claimants Pelican Crossing Accident
How Did The Pelican Crossing Accident Happen?
Serious Brain Injuries And Paralysis
How Has The Claimant Been Affected By Their Injuries?
How Was This Pedestrian Hit By A Car Case Concluded?
Serious Brain Injury Compensation Payout Calculator
No Win No Fee Claims If Hit By A Car When Using A Pelican Crossing
How Legal Expert Could Help If You Were Hit By A Car When Crossing The Road
Start Your Pedestrian Crossing Accident Claim
Pedestrian Accident And Safety Resources

Details Of The Claimants Pelican Crossing Accident

Brain injury

The information that this case study is based upon, demonstrating a successful claim for a brain injury caused by an accident on a pelican crossing, was originally published by the Mail Online in March, 2007. We are going to examine how the accident happened, what injuries the victim suffered, how the claim proceeded and why a compensation payout was made for brain damage.

In this case, we look at how a young woman was awarded a record compensation payout (at the time), due to being struck by a motorist while she was crossing the road on a pelican crossing. She suffered serious brain damage, and as a result, requires around the clock nursing care. She was awarded a total of £8.5 million in compensation.

How Did The Pelican Crossing Accident Happen?

The young woman was 13 years old when she was hit by a car on a pedestrian crossing. In fact, this was an accident on a pelican crossing, not simply a zebra crossing, which means there were traffic lights to warn drivers that they had to stop. It should have been safe, and she should not have been hit when crossing the road.

The pelican crossing was working properly, none of the lights was faulty and the timing of the crossing was correct. Yet despite this, she was struck by a 79-year-old driver, who did not even slow down, ploughing over the young lady at speed. As a result of this accident, the driver of the vehicle was convicted of careless driven and was ordered to pay a £75 fine.

Serious Brain Injuries And Paralysis

We can clearly see that the victim of this accident suffered a truly catastrophic injury that would result in a serious, permanent lowering of the quality of their life. The NHS has published some excellent information that details the effects of a brain injury, such as the one this girl suffered in a pedestrian crossing accident.

A serious pedestrian head injury such as the one this case study covers, can have massive effects on the abilities of the victim, such as:

Loss of motor control and paralysis.
Lowered or complete loss of cognitive function.
Serious memory impairment.
Severe changes to the victim’s personality.
Loss of speech, and senses such as sight or hearing.

Judging by the level of compensation that was awarded for this claim, we can safely assume that the victim suffered at least one of these kinds of impairments, if not several.

How Has The Claimant Been Affected By Their Injuries?

At the time the original information was published that this study is based upon, the injured woman was 22 years old. She was entirely wheelchair-bound, as she had lost motor control of her legs, and she had suffered a seriously impaired memory.

The claimant requires around the clock care, that requires 8 individual care staff to provide. The victim has suffered a severe loss of life quality, effectively ensuring that there is no possibility of her living anything approaching a normal life from the age of 13, until her death. Both of the claimant’s parents have given up work to help care for their daughter.

How Was This Pedestrian Hit By A Car Case Concluded?

A personal injury solicitor handled a car insurance compensation claim against the insurer of the vehicle that injured the claimant. In this case, the insurance firm was Norwich Union. The insurer admitted liability from the outset, as the driver had already been convicted of careless driving due to the incident.

Compensation was awarded to ensure that the claimant had the funds available to pay for the care she will need for her entire life. Initially, an interim payment of £340,000 was made by Norwich Union, to cover initial emergency costs. After the claim was settled, the full amount of compensation totalled £8.5 million. At the time this settlement was secured, it was the highest single compensation award for these kinds of injuries in the UK.

Serious Brain Injury Compensation Payout Calculator

You may be able to find a personal injury claims calculator that can help you to work out roughly how much a brain damage claim might be valued at. You can also use this table below, which has been created based on the actual UK judicial guidelines for valuing injuries.

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If you would like to find out what serious injury compensation amounts are, and get an accurate estimate of compensation amounts based on your own circumstances, then please speak to a member of our claims team. An advisor will go over your claim with you, and can then arrange for a solicitor to value your claim for you. In order for this to be possible, you will be required to undergo a medical examination to prove the extent of your injuries, and also the effect they will have in your life in the future.

No Win No Fee Claims If Hit By A Car When Using A Pelican Crossing

By using a lawyer that can handle your claim under a No Win No Fee agreement, you are taking steps to minimise the financial risks traditionally associated with making a claim. This is because you will not need to pay any legal fees unless your claim is a success. The means that:

You don’t pay any fee at the start of your claim to have the solicitor begin working on it.
You don’t pay any fees while the solicitor is processing your claim for you, even if this takes months or even years.
You won’t be asked to pay legal fees if the lawyer doesn’t manage to secure you any compensation at all.
You only pay your legal fees once the lawyer has received a compensation payment for you. When they do receive a settlement on your behalf, they will collect their pre-agreed fee from this money, and you will be given the remainder.

This kind of fee arrangement is formally known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). If you would like more information about how an accident and injury lawyer working under a CFA can help you, please speak to one of our claim advisors, who will help you further.

How Legal Expert Could Help If You Were Hit By A Car When Crossing The Road

If you need a personal injury lawyer to help you make a claim for an injury sustained in a pedestrian and car accident, we have a very simple three-step new claims process you can follow, to get the legal help you need.

Speak to a member of our claims team using the phone number in the section below. They will answer any questions you have about your claim, or the claims process in general.
A claim advisor will evaluate your claim, and let you know whether they believe it could be valid or not.
A personal injury lawyer will begin to process your claim, and try to get you’re the highest level of compensation possible.

If you have any questions about this new claims process, give our team a call, one of them will be able to talk you through it.

Start Your Pedestrian Crossing Accident Claim

Have you suffered a pedestrian injury that was not your fault? If you have been, a solicitor experienced in handling personal injury claims could be able to help you get the compensation you are eligible for. We can organise a solicitor to handle your claim for you. Contract our claims team on 0161 696 9685. An expert claims advisor will go over your claim with you, let you know what your options are, and provide you with some free legal advice about how to get your claim started right away. Additionally, the advisor will provide you with any key information you need to know about your own claim, such as the personal injury claims time limit that will apply.