Brain damage claim news
25/05/2011

£4.25m payout for car accident victim

A woman who suffered serious brain damage in a 1996 car accident in Wales has been awarded £4.25m compensation.

The woman was aged six at the time when a vehicle crashed into the car she was travelling in as a passenger. Her mother's partner, who had been driving, suffered fatal injuries.

The car was hit head on in Blackwood, Caerphilly County. The driver of the other vehicle was alleged to have been drink-driving at the time of the accident and was later convicted of driving without due care and attention. His insurers admitted liability two years after the accident, in 1998.

The victim suffered brain damage as a result of the accident and 15 years later launched a damages claim against the driver's insurers.

The woman's personal injury lawyer explained that she will never be able to live independently and requires extensive care.

He told the court that initially no serious injury was found and it was thought that the girl had suffered nothing more than a broken leg.

However, it later became clear that the crash had caused a pre-existing congenital weakness in the tissues of her brain to tear. This subsequently caused intra-cranial bleeding which usually causes death.

The court judge approved the compensation settlement which will be used to pay for the care the woman will now require for the rest of her life due to her brain damage.