Road traffic accident news
02/01/2009

Compensation for bizarre steering wheel accident

A teenager who suffered multiple injuries including whiplash and a twisted spine in a bus-related road traffic accident has been awarded £1,700 personal injury compensation.

The 16-year-old beauty therapy student was travelling on a bus in the city of Manchester when the road accident happened. In a freakish incident, the steering wheel became detached from the bus, causing the single-decker vehicle to veer from the road and plough into a nearby hedge.

"I was terrified. From where I was sitting I saw the steering wheel come off in the driver's hands then the bus went off the road," the teenager recounted, adding, "I was thrown from the seat and was shocked and upset by what had happened, I thought we were going to crash right into the house.

"It left me really nervous and I didn't go on a bus for weeks after. I have managed to get back to using buses now but I am really nervous, I don't think I'll ever be able to relax.

"The whiplash and soreness lasted and I had to have physiotherapy and exercises, I still get pains sometimes and it has stopped me doing things."

The bus company at the heart of the road accident commented that it was "satisfied" with a "full investigation" it has carried out into the incident.

"The offer of compensation that we made was accepted in this instance. We would like to stress that we take passengers safety very seriously," it added.