Personal injury news

Amputee makes personal injury
claim after freak accident

A horse-lover who made a personal injury claim after losing her leg in a freak trampolining accident has been awarded a six-figure sum in an out-of-court settlement.

Michelle Hadfield’s aspirations for pursuing an equestrian career were cut short when a visit to a leisure centre trampolining class went disastrously wrong. The 25-year-old explained, “They started me off slowly, but then I had to do this complicated move. I landed, twisted and my leg gave way.”

She was rushed to hospital where it was discovered that both bones in her leg had snapped and the main artery was severed. Surgeons attempted to operate twice on the damaged limb but were eventually forced to perform an amputation.

Miss Hadfield decided to pursue a personal injury claim against Medlock Leisure Centre after she realised that she would no longer be able to partake in a three-year equestrian course. Now working in a call-centre, she made the compensation claim on the basis that the trampolining move had been too complicated and she had not been properly supervised.

Although not accepting responsibility for the amputee's injury, Neil Chaisty, general manager of Tameside Sports Trust, released a statement saying, "The trust has the utmost sympathy for Michelle and settlement of the case was negotiated by our insurers on a mutually amicable basis without any recourse to the court and without liability for the accident being accepted."