Personal injury news

Car crash victim receives £5 million
personal injury compensation

A woman confined to a wheelchair for life following a horrific car crash has been awarded personal injury compensation of over £5million.

Maria Freeman, a former civil service executive officer, is a tetraplegic as a result of severe personal injuries she suffered when a van forced her car off the M1 in February 2002, sending her spinning into a tree.

The 38-year-old is now unable to care for her five-year-old son unaided and relies on 24-hour care from others. She did, however, survive the road accident with her cognitive and intellectual powers intact, and she now intends to have another baby with husband, Colin.

Mrs Freeman already receives £50,000 a year from Hertfordshire County Council, but a judge ruled that it was not right to rely on local authorities for money when someone else's negligence was to blame for the road traffic accident.

The van driver, Christopher Lockett, had already admitted liability for the incident, and so his insurance company have been ordered to pay the victim a total of £5,546,245 in personal injury compensation.

Making his ruling at the High Court, Mr Justice Tomlinson described Mrs Freeman as "a strong-minded and self-willed person who is determined to live as normal a family life as possible."