£21,000 compensation awarded for hip fracture as a result of negligent driving

Client situation

Our client, (Mrs C), was an elderly lady who was injured outside of her home when she fell over some fallen masonry which had intruded into her garden following an accident, in which a driver had negligently driven into her garden wall. Mrs C had heard the crash and had gone into her garden to see what had happened and to help the driver, and it was whilst she was attempting to pick her way through the debris that she fell.
Mrs C sustained a hip fracture as a result of her fall, which required surgery. While she made a relatively good recovery with the help of physiotherapy, she was left with residual pain and discomfort and was very much restricted in terms of her movement. This hindered her ability to move around her home and live independently as she had done pre-accident.

How we helped

Mrs C instructed Co-op Legal Services to help by pursuing a civil claim and her case was assigned to a member of the serious injury team. We made an initial assessment of the liability prospects and advised Mrs C that we felt that a claim should be submitted to the Defendant, as we considered that the negligent driving had given rise to the fallen debris, and that it was reasonable for her to have wished to inspect the damage to her wall and commendable that she wished to help the driver. We argued that whilst the Defendant had not hit her directly with the car, they had undoubtedly caused damage to her property and created the hazard in her garden, which she subsequently tripped on.

We obtained medical records to assess the injuries and obtain an initial view of the value of her claim. It was our view that her injuries could be valued at around £25,000 given the nature of her injuries and recovery, but that the final outcome would be dependant on the view of an appropriate medical expert as to prognosis.

After submitting the Claim to the Defendant insurers, they responded to advise that they would take issue regarding liability and causation, claiming that Mrs C was the ‘author of her own misfortune’. Nevertheless, they proposed an early settlement offer to settle the claim. We negotiated on the basis that the Claimant had required considerable care and assistance, which should be accounted for as a separate head of claim, and they agreed to increase their offer, with the claim settling for £21,000.00.

The outcome

Mrs C was delighted with the outcome and accepted the settlement offer of in the sum of £21,000 in compensation to reflect her injuries and losses, to include a sum to reflect the fact that she had needed support at home with domestic chores.