Injured man awarded £18,000
A 37-year-old man has been awarded with tens on thousands of pounds in compensation after he was involved in a serious road traffic accident.
The chartered accountant who is from Leeds was hit by a car as he crossed the road on a pelican crossing.
Prior to the accident, the man would spend most of his time in his car rushing from one place to another and had taken to eating overly processed food during a busy day at the office.
However, he was diagnosed as 'clinically obese' in 2004 and warned by his doctor that he could risk suffering a fatal heart attack if he didn't change his lifestyle in the near future.
With this shocking wake-up call, the man decided to make changes and chose to forego travelling by car and took up using public transport, requiring the man to make a 20 minute walk to his nearest train station every morning and on the return journey home.
Car accident at crossing
Unfortunately, just two months into his healthy new routine, the man was involved in a serious road accident which led to him contacting injury lawyers to make a no win no fee legal claim for his personal injuries.
On the day of the accident, the man had been working late at the office and caught the 8.35pm train home from Leeds city centre.
While walking on the final leg of his journey, the man pushed the button of a pelican crossing and waited for the appropriate time to cross.
The crossing made a bleeping sound and indicated that it was safe to cross the road. The man then heard the noise and took a step off the pavement but just as his foot touched the ground, a Ford Escort crashed into him, hitting him with the full force of the bonnet and sending him several metres down the road.
The man was taken to hospital where he received treatment for a serious head injury, broken ribs and a punctured lung.
Severe personal injuries
Doctors were concerned that he may have suffered a brain injury in the car accident, but this could be later ruled out following a scan. He spent two weeks in hospital and was forced to take a further two months off work whilst he recovered from his personal injuries.
The injured man later discovered that the driver of the Escort had been drink-driving on the day of the crash and decided to make the no win no fee compensation claim.
A personal injury lawyer contacted the driver's insurance company, who admitted full liability for their client's negligence during the road accident. They immediately made an offer of £13,700, which the man's personal injury lawyer suggested he reject because he felt that the injured man deserved a higher amount of compensation.
The insurance company re-evaluated the sum of compensation to avoid the expensive costs of taking the case through the courts and agreed to pay close to £18,000 for the man's serious injuries, loss of earnings and expenses for medical treatment.
The injured man was also able to keep every single penny of this compensation sum.
He was delighted with the outcome of the case and said: "I'm really pleased I decided to make a no win no fee claim after the accident. I was seriously injured in the crash and missed out on two months at work. The compensation will help me a lot financially."
Updated on 13/10/2009