Injured pedestrian wins £365,000 in damages
A man who was seriously injured when he was crushed between a North London school bus and another vehicle has been awarded £365,000 in
damages in an out of court settlement.
John Lewis, aged 32, a teaching assistant, was crushed when the school bus reversed into him, trapping him between the bus and another car, resulting in Mr Lewis suffering multiple fractures to his pelvis.
A moment of carelessness by the bus driver has shattered Mr Lewis' life as well as his pelvis and as a result he was determined to fight for the money from Islington Borough Council in order to rebuild his life. The injury meant that Mr Lewis spent a number of weeks in hospital where he was in great pain as doctors struggled to reconstruct his shattered pelvis.
"In traction for three weeks in hospital, John's condition worsened and he now has osteoarthritis and will need a hip replacement," said a spokeswoman from the firm representing Mr Lewis.
Mr Lewis was represented by Manchester law firm Ralli, who have fought for four years since the accident in Finsbury Park happened in 2004. Having finally secured a substantial amount of compensation is a long awaited victory for both Mr Lewis and his law firm, Ralli.
Emma Hodson, personal injury partner at Ralli, who acted on Mr Lewis' behalf, added: "The injuries sustained by my client have had a devastating effect on his life. We have fought hard for this settlement as it is only right he receives significant financial compensation from the driver's employer, Islington Borough Council."
The accident has meant that Mr Lewis has had to give up his job and surrender long held dreams of joining the Territorial Army where he had recently been accepted to begin training as a paramedic. His once active lifestyle disappeared after the accident which held him back from taking part in many of his favourite sports and activities, resigned to becoming merely a spectator rather than an essential part of the team.
Unsurprisingly, this restriction to his formerly active life left Mr Lewis with feelings of anger and frustration, which eventually developed into serious depression.
After suffering with severe psychiatric problems after the accident, Mr Lewis' relationship with his fiancée broke down, causing him to spiral into an even deeper depression on top of the anxiety he was already dealing with as a result of the accident.
He has now started to build a new life for himself with a new job at the British Red Cross. In this position he uses his experiences to advise on health and safety issues. Mr Lewis said: "The incident has had a critical impact on my life. I lost my job, my active lifestyle and my relationship. The physical and psychological damages have been devastating and it's been difficult getting my life back on track.
"The payout is a great result as until this point I felt no sense of justice. Now I finally have a chance to put this behind me and look to the future."
After four long years of waiting Mr Lewis has finally been compensated for the devastation which was caused to his life. Although no amount of money can bring back the life he had before, the payout will go a long way to help Mr Lewis deal with the trauma he suffered.
Updated on 8/6/2008