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Elderly lady knocked down by car

Elderly lady knocked down by car whilst crossing the road.

Date: February 2011

Our client, Mrs B of E Sussex,an elderly lady, was knocked down while crossing a road in St Leonards on Sea.

Her case was that she was halfway across the road when she was hit, whereas the car driver argued that the accident was wholly or partly our client’s fault because she had barely left the kerb when the collision occurred, in other words had stepped out in front of his vehicle giving him no chance. He also pointed to the fact that there was a zebra crossing only a few yards away which she could and should have used.

The statement our client gave to the police was not particularly helpful in that she too claimed to have barely left the kerb, but we were able to track down an off duty police officer who had been at the scene and whose evidence was that our client was actually in the middle of the road. Therefore we were able to contradict our own client’s evidence and strengthen her position on liability.

She suffered a serious fracture to the right knee which will require a complete knee replacement in the next 2 to 5 years. Given her age (she is now in her 80’s) there was inevitably consideration of whether or not she would be prepared to undergo the knee surgery but the private cost was included in the claim, together with significant care from the Claimant’s daughter.

The matter was settled for £22,000, reflecting a small degree of contributory negligence but nevertheless substantially exceeding the client’s expectations.

The case is interesting partly because of the age of the Claimant, partly because the strength of her case on liability was actually undermined by the statement she gave to the police but which we were able to contradict with independent witness evidence, and partly because had she not listened to our advice in relation to the future knee surgery, she risked substantially under settling the matter.

For further information about injury claims involving car accidents, contact Neille Ryan, Partner on 01227 763939.


 

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