Road accident victims who are injured by uninsured drivers need not worry that their right to compensation will be compromised. In one case, a seven-figure settlement was negotiated on behalf of a pedestrian who almost died when he was struck down by a hit-and-run driver.
The man was crossing the road near his home when the driver, who had two young children in the back seat of his car, hit him at high speed. He sustained multiple fractures to his face and skull and was in a coma for nine days after the accident. Damage to his brain resulted in intellectual impairment, headaches, seizures, fatigue, depression and post-traumatic amnesia.
The driver made off from the scene without stopping, but was subsequently traced by the police. He was prosecuted and received a three-year prison sentence after being convicted of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, driving without insurance and failing to stop after an accident.
After the man took legal action, the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB), an industry body which compensates victims of uninsured drivers, agreed to settle his claim for £1.6 million. In approving the settlement, the High Court noted that it was a case in which law-abiding motorists would, via their insurance premiums, ultimately pick up the bill for an appalling piece of driving.