When elderly people are injured in accidents that are not their fault, lawyers have to move fast to ensure they receive the full benefit of the compensation due to them. In a case on point, a woman in her 90s who was struck by a car as she crossed the road received more than £500,000 in damages.
The pensioner had almost made it across the busy road when a car undertook a van, switched lanes and struck her. She suffered multiple broken bones and a traumatic brain injury. After legal proceedings were launched, a settlement of the woman's personal injury claim against the motorist's insurers was achieved less than two and a half years after the collision. The insurers accepted 85 per cent liability for the accident and agreed to pay her £534,225 in damages.
Formerly active in her church and community, the accident deprived the mother of three of the ability to make important decisions for herself. Tending to wander and get lost, she required supervision and care and was in urgent need of appropriate accommodation. Approving the settlement, the High Court praised both sides for achieving a speedy resolution of the case so that the damages award could be used to improve her quality of life during the time that remained to her.