Belinda Lancaster

Car passenger thrown across as car spins

Mr Turner was in the passenger seat of a car being driven by a neighbour.  The driver pressed the accelerator by mistake and the car spun around, ending up pointing the wrong way across the carriageway.  Mr Turner was thrown to one side, and his left side hit the car door.   He had to climb out of the driver’s door and sit on a wall to recover.

Mr Turner injured the left-hand side of his neck, chest and ribs and was in constant pain for a month after the accident. His neck pain relieved after one month and chest pain after five months, but after nine months, Mr Turner’s shoulder pain continued.  He was not able to work for 18 months, during which time he made 12 visits to his GP and took numerous painkillers.  He was referred to physiotherapy a month after the accident and had 21 sessions. X-rays and MRI scans were undertaken.  He visited an orthopaedic consultant and had two courses of steroid injections, which relieved the shoulder pain.

Passenger suffers severe anxiety

As a result of the accident, Mr Turner suffered severe anxiety and didn’t want to go out in a car.  Graysons referred him to counselling, which helped to relieve the anxiety somewhat, but he is still anxious about getting in a car and avoids it whenever he can.

During the 18 months in which he didn’t work, Mr Turner lived on state benefits and cashed in his pension provision, so Belinda’s success in winning the compensation was very important.

Whilst the defendant’s insurer admitted liability quickly, it refused to engage in negotiations or make an interim payment, which meant that Belinda had to issue proceedings.  Following this, the defendant made one offer, which was not acceptable, and then refused to negotiate for a further 12 months.  After 12 months of persistently obtaining further evidence and chasing the defendant, the offer was finally increased and Belinda was able to settle the claim for £17,500.

If you are involved in a road traffic accident, as the driver, passenger or a pedestrian, contact our experts and we will make a free of charge appointment for you in which you can discuss your case.  You can also find out more about road traffic accidents on our web pages.