Personal injury team settles claim for pedestrian hit by car

Posted: 19/02/2016

Penningtons Manches’ personal injury team has secured damages for a pedestrian who was badly injured as a result of a collision with a motor vehicle. The claimant was jogging along a local road, wearing high-visibility clothing. Needing to cross to the other side, she stepped into the road but when she reached the centre she was hit by a car which had approached her from the opposite direction. 

The claimant suffered a heavy impact from the car, causing her to be knocked down. Emergency services were called to the scene and she was immediately taken to hospital. She suffered multiple fractures to her left shoulder and left leg and required surgical fixation of her shoulder while her leg was placed in a cast. 

The motor insurer was slow to respond and initially approached the claimant with a 50% admission of liability, seeking to hold the claimant equally to blame for the accident. Penningtons Manches’ personal injury team investigated liability thoroughly and recommended that the claimant reject the 50/50 liability split. After a series of liability negotiations, the motor insurer conceded a higher degree of fault. Medical experts were instructed to report on the claimant’s injuries, and a course of physiotherapy negotiations took place with the defendant insurer. Following these negotiations, a substantial settlement was reached without the need for court proceedings.

Charlene McAuliffe, an associate in Penningtons Manches’ personal injury team who dealt with the case, said: “This accident and the injuries suffered by our client had a profound effect on her ability to go about her day to day life and caused a significant level of pain and discomfort. Courts have consistently imposed a high burden on car drivers to reflect the fact that the car is potentially a dangerous weapon.

"In this case the road which our client was crossing was a wide, straight stretch of road which extended for several hundred yards. While it is not unreasonable to suggest that any pedestrian who elects not to use a designated crossing does take upon themselves a higher standard of care, motorists also have a high duty of care towards pedestrians. We felt that, given the circumstances, the motorist bore the greater responsibility for this accident in not keeping a proper look out and not driving in a way that meant he was able to stop in time.”

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