£48,000 awarded for lower body injury on motorbike | Case Study

Compensation for a lower body injury claim of £48,000 was awarded to a 16 year old man who was injured as a child in an accident whilst riding pillion on his grandfather's motorbike.

See also:

How do I make a motorcycle injury claim?

How do I make a child injury claim?

Personal injury solicitors in Leeds

Injury details:

The claimant was riding pillion with his grandfather at the time of the accident. The motorcycle accident occurred when 2 motorbikes collided at a road junction. His grandfather was killed in the accident.

The claimant suffered two broken thigh bones and broke his left arm. He was air lifted to hospital for immediate surgery.

The claimant had external fixators fitted to both sides of his thighs and his left arm was in plaster. The external fixators were extremely painful and he needed emotional support from both his parents who took it in turns to stay in the hospital with him.

After 5 days the claimant again had surgery to remove the external fixators which were replaced with metal pins. He stayed in hospital for a total of 18 days.

At home, the claimant was dependent on his parents for all his basic hygiene needs. After 4 months he was able to mobilise indoors on crutches but was only able to go outside in a wheelchair. He was unable to go back to school full-time until 7 months after the accident.

He had further abortive surgery after 3 years to remove the metal nails from one of his thighs. Only one nail could be extracted, the remainder were too far embedded.

The claimant was left with permanent scarring on both thighs and he was considered to be at an increased risk should he suffer any subsequent injuries to his thighs.

The claimant suffered from flashbacks, nightmares and travel anxiety following the accident.

Allegation:

It was alleged that the defendant was negligent insofar as they had driven without due care and attention causing the collision in which the claimant was injured.

The claimant alleged that he had suffered fractured limbs, permanent bodily scarring and had been left with ongoing pain caused by the metal pins in his legs as a direct result of the collision.

The claimant also alleged that he had suffered psychological injuries including losing his self confidence as a direct result of the collision.

Settlement and conclusion

The matter progressed to a Court hearing in Leeds County Court.

It was acknowledged by the Court that the claimant's injury prevented him from doing PE at school and from re-joining his scout troop.

Compensation of £30,000 was awarded to the claimant by the Court for "pain, suffering and loss of amenity".

The remainder of the compensation was awarded for past and future care.

Disclaimer

Case studies are for informational purposes only and aim to help prospective claimants understand the injury claim process. They are based on cases handled by Quittance panel solicitors or sourced from public court records.