£48,000 for leg injuries after bike accident

Personal injury solicitors secured £48,000 for 16 year old boy who suffered serious leg injuries in a bike accident.

Injury details - leg, thigh and arm

The claimant was riding as a passenger on the back of his Grand Dad's motorbike at the time of the accident. He was aged 12 at the time the motorbike collided with another motor bike at a crossroads. The collision was so severe that the claimant's grandfather died. The claimant was airlifted to Hospital as he was unconscious and had suffered fractures to both his thigh bones (femur) as well as a fracture to his left arm.

See also:

Arm injury compensation claims

Leg injury compensation claims

Subsequent treatment and progress

The claimant had immediate surgery to try fix the fractures to both femurs. External fixators were used and fixed to the claimant's thighs but these caused the claimant excruciating pain and discomfort. As such 5 days later the claimant went back to theatre where he had further surgery. The external fixators were removed. The claimant had internal surgery to pin the fractured femurs.

The claimant remained in significant pain and stayed in Hospital for a total of 18 days. His parents stayed with him during this time. When the claimant left Hospital his mobility remained significantly impaired. He had to sleep in his parents lounge. His parents had to help wash and dress him and assist in using a commode.

At 16 weeks the claimant managed to use crutches to move round the house. When the claimant went outside he needed to use a wheel chair.

Effect on lifestyle

At 20 weeks post accident the claimant managed to return to school on a part time basis. He concentrated on the main subjects of Science, Maths and English. Through his determination the claimant maintained his pre-accident grades. He was not able to do any form of sports at school and he never went back to Scouts.

The claimant was left with permanent scarring to both thighs from both the external fixator surgery and the internal surgery to pin the thigh fractures. Additional surgery three years after the accident to try remove the pins was only partially successful. Not all the pins could be removed. This would mean that if the claimant suffered further injury to his legs this could make the situation worse as one of the pins and become embedded in the bone.

Final compensation settlement

Whilst in the main the claimant had made a good recovery from his injuries he was left with on going pain. This was caused by some of the metal pains which caused irritation to the soft tissue around his knee. Fortunately the fracture to the claimant's arm had healed without complication. The claimant was left with some additional travel anxiety, disturbance to his sleep pattern. This gradually settled over 18 months.

In view of the claimant's age settlement had to be approved by the court. A Judge approved an overall settlement of £48,000, with £30,000.00 being awarded for the claimant's pain suffering and loss of amenity.

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.