The claimant, a 53-year-old woman, received £21,790 for the multiple injuries sustained in a road traffic accident in November 2004. Her injuries included a punctured lung and following the accident she required therapy to help resolve her anxiety about driving.
Claimant: Female: 50 years old at date of accident; 53 years old at date of settlement.
Road Traffic: On November 2, 2004, the claimant (C) was driving a vehicle that collided with a vehicle driven on the wrong side of the road by the defendant (D).
C sustained injury and brought an action against D alleging that D's negligent driving had caused the accident.
Liability admitted.
Injuries: C suffered from a punctured lung, damage to her ribs, fractures of her collar bone and sternum, and cuts and scrapes to her hands and knees.
Effects: C was detained in hospital for six days. She suffered a fracture of the mid-part of the sternum and pneoumothorax with some presumed rib fracture. The symptoms persisted and on examination 9 months post accident there was tenderness to the palpation around the chest area. There was a small incidence of non-union of the fracture to the sternum but the fracture to the right clavicle had united. C suffered a slight deformity and a slight shortening of the clavicle.
C suffered an injury to her left hip, caused by her seat belt, which resolved over several months.
Her bruising settled and the lacerations healed within a few weeks of the accident.
C reported anxiety difficulties when travelling as a driver by car. She also suffered with some degree of post-traumatic shock by replaying the accident in her thoughts. These symptoms abated over some months.
Prognosis: Treatment in the form of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy was recommended and it was expected that C would return to her pre-accident functioning within 3 months of the completion of the treatment, 18 months post accident.
Out of Court Settlement: £21,790 total damages.
Background to damages: The case was settled on a global basis with no particular breakdown of damages. However, the following breakdown was estimated by the claimant's solicitors:
Breakdown of General Damages: Pain, suffering and loss of amenity: £11,500; Future care and assistance: £3,500.
Breakdown of Special Damages: £6,790 (which included past care and assistance: £2,600).
Henmans LLP (Oxford) for the claimant. First Alternative, Insurers, for the defendant.
LTLPI 25/2/2008 (Unreported elsewhere)
This Quantum Report was provided courtesy of Irvin Thobourne of Henmans LLP, for the claimant.
Document No. AM0201222 Reproduced by kind permission of Lawtel (www.lawtel.com)