£1m Compensation for Client Hit on Zebra Crossing

£1m Compensation for Client Hit on Zebra Crossing in Cheshire

Our client was a pedestrian walking in the early hours of a winter morning to a nearby bus stop on his way to work in Stockport. On route, our client stepped onto a Zebra crossing to cross the road and meet a colleague. The Defendant driver was travelling in his vehicle on the same road as our client, but his view was obscured by frost on his windscreen. As a result, the Defendant failed to see our client crossing the road and struck him with his car. Our client was rendered unconscious and suffered a serious personal injury as a result of the collision.

Our client instructed us to pursue an injury claim against the Defendant who went on to plead guilty to driving without due care and attention. The claim was supported by evidence from the Police which outlined how the driver failed to clear his windscreen of frost and did not take extra care to heed the presence of potential pedestrians. Had the Defendant been driving with reasonable caution and with an unobstructed view, the accident would have been avoided.

Our client sustained a variety of serious injuries including skull fractures, damage to the central nervous system (post traumatic gliosis), haemorrhages leading to brain dysfunction (encephalomalacia), and bleeding of the lung (bilateral lung contusion). We instructed leading experts including orthopaedic surgeons, neurologists, and neuropsychologists to give evidence in support of our client’s claim. Further evidence from the experts suggested our client could develop other serious medical complaints later in life, such as epilepsy.

We commenced Court proceedings and pursued the Defendant for compensation. After extensive negotiations, our solicitors successfully negotiated a settlement of one million pounds (£1m) in compensation for our client. This figure reflects the significant impact the accident had on our client – his pain and suffering as well as his inability to participate in his formerly active lifestyle.  His claim also included compensation for loss of earnings and provision for future rehabilitation to aid his recovery.

We were delighted to achieve this life-changing award for our client after he suffered such significant physical and psychological trauma through no fault of his own.  The compensation will greatly help him to reclaim his independence.

This case illustrates the need for great care when driving in winter weather conditions and stands as a reminder to drivers of the need to ensure that windscreens are fully cleared of ice before setting off.  The AA provide advice on how to defrost a car windscreen, which you can read here.

If you are a pedestrian, driver, or passenger who has been injured a road traffic accident please contact our specialist compensation solicitors today for a free no obligation discussion.  We represent clients nationally from our Cheshire offices in Cheadle Hulme (Stockport) and Keslall (Tarporley).

You can call us on 0161 989 9400 or complete the Contact Us form.