£120,000 for a Dog Walker hit by Car

Dark nights can lead to road traffic accidents and sometimes the injuries can be life-changing, as in this case where our personal injury lawyers successfully obtained compensation for a dog walker who was hit by a car.

Pedestrian Injured whilst walking the dog

We acted for a client from Royton who was struck by a car whilst walking home with his dog. Working with the insurers our personal injury team settled the case for £120,000 and our client is currently trying to rebuild his life.

“We always see a flurry of accidents at this time of year with more people out and about and the dark nights,” said Personal Injury lawyer, Lisa Anderson.

“When an accident happens and you are injured and inconvenienced through no fault of your own you can make a pedestrian accident claim.  The cost of an accident can mount up, you may be off work and needing rehabilitation and that is not taking into account the psychological effects and long lasting issues.  A personal injury claim following an accident can secure interim payments ahead of the final settlement which help with rehabilitation,” she added.

“Personal injury claims can be made against the driver if they are insured, but if not the Motor Insurers’ Bureau steps in and even if the driver at fault does not stop at the scene of the accident, and no details of the driver or the vehicle involved are recorded, a claim can still be presented to the Motor Insurers’ Bureau under the Untraced Driver’s Agreement.” added Lisa.

Pedestrian Injury Settlement

The £120,000 secured for this client is a substantial settlement but it did reflect the severity of his injuries which included;  a fractured skull, sinus fracture, cervical spine fractures, knee injury, bruising to his feet and lacerations to his face which left permanent scarring.

In addition to compensation for the road traffic accident and the physical injuries, this case also took into account psychological symptoms and the specific phobia that the client developed especially when out in the dark and crossing busy roads.

“In this case our client could no longer return to his manual employment so his settlement took into account benefits paid during his convalescence and we secured expert medical evidence on his behalf from an orthopaedic surgeon and consultant clinical psychologist.”

Speaking about this case, one medical expert said: “Were he trained for a sedentary type job he could probably do it longer term, but I cannot see him returning back to work …..at any point in the future due to the effects of his injuries.”  Despite this, and to the client’s credit, he did manage to return to his pre-accident employment as a fabricator on a part-time basis.

At the time of the accident, the street was well lit but the driver did not see our client even though he was in the middle of the road when he was hit and clearly there to be seen.

Pedestrian Injury Claims

Our lawyers support clients with the after effects of injuries sustained in accidents. When a pedestrian injury claim is made we to prove in the first instance that a Defendant was negligent. In this case it was seen that the driver of the car was negligent, failed to keep a proper look out, brake in time, swerve out of the way and perhaps was driving too fast.  It was suggested that the Defendant failed to drive with any reasonable skill, care and attention and exposed the Claimant (our client) to foreseeable and unnecessary risk of injury.

How can we help

Our Personal Injury lawyers have a wealth of experience dealing with pedestrian injury claims including hit and run claims on a No Win No Fee basis.  Call 0161 785 3500 or enquiries@pearsonlegal.co.uk

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Please note that the information and opinions contained in this article are not intended to be comprehensive, nor to provide legal advice. No responsibility for its accuracy or correctness is assumed by Pearson Solicitors and Financial Advisers Ltd or any of its members or employees. Professional legal advice should be obtained before taking, or refraining from taking, any action as a result of this article.

This blog was posted some time ago and its contents may now be out of date. For the latest legal position relating to these issues, get in touch with the author - or make an enquiry now.