The claimant’s details have been changed but this is indeed a true case
Phil Mulryne acted for Mr N, the Claimant, to pursue a claim for personal injuries following an accident where he was hit by a car.
The Claimant was out running, when a car travelling behind him, drove to close to the Claimant, knocking him to the ground.
As a consequence of the Claimant’s fall, he sustained a fracture to his right ankle with his foot being put in plaster for approximately 6 weeks and subsequently he had to wear a plastic boot on his foot.
The Claimant also sustained various cuts and bruises. He also suffered psychological trauma, experiencing flashbacks and anxiety when hearing loud noises, particularly from cars. He also experienced low mood for a period of time because he was unable to undertake any running. At the time of the accident, he was trying for a half marathon. Following the accident, the Claimant decided only to run in parks and not on the road or footpaths.
The majority of symptoms from the Claimant’s ankle fracture resolved within 12-18 months and after that period he only had occasional pain when running for lengthy periods. The Claimant did experience some ongoing scarring to the cuts to his arms and legs.
The Claimant was off work for a period of few months and was paid his basic earnings, but he lost his earnings for additional hours of supervision, which he could not undertake.
The Claimant’s wife had to take time off work following the accident to care for the Claimant, to include taking the Claimant to medical appointments. In addition, the Claimant’s wife had to undertake the Claimant’s share of household tasks, which include general household cleaning, cooking, lawn mowing and caring for Claimant’s 2 young children who were aged 5 and 1 at the time of the accident.
It was also necessary for Claimant’s mother-in-law to travel from Africa to assist with the care of the Claimant and his children.
The claim was put to the insurers of the third party, who accepted liability.
An offer of £7500 was put forward in settlement of all heads of claim. This was rejected.
Additional offer of £12,000 was put forward by the insurers company, which was again rejected but the claim was settled in the sum of £14,500.
It was estimated that the persona injury claim was worth in the region of £12,000 with the other costs and expenses in the region of £2,000-£2,500.
In view of the above, the final offer made by the insurers company was deemed to be reasonable and appropriate for settlement.