Injury compensation news

Workman awarded over £5,000 for compensation claim

A woman whose dog bit a workman has broken down in tears after being ordered to pay more than £5,000 for his compensation claim.

Debbie Vaughan, of Coldharbour Lane, Chailey, was at home when her 10-year-old Labrador bit workman Robert Ferguson as he tried to fix a bed.

Mr Ferguson contacted personal injury solicitors and decided to make an injury claim for the dog bite.

At Lewes County Court, Judge John Merrick ordered Miss Vaughan to pay over £5,000 in personal injury compensation to Mr Ferguson.

But Miss Vaughan said that she could only afford to pay the compensation claim in instalments of £20 a month.

Her appeal was contested by a barrister who discovered that she was living in a house valued at £405,000.

Upset at the ruling and fighting back tears, Miss Vaughan said, "Basically your client wants his money for Christmas, ho, ho, ho."

Judge Merrick said to Miss Vaughan, "If you can't pay immediately it's up to the claimant to take enforcement proceedings.

"The reality is that if you were to pay by instalments of £20 a month it is going to take an awfully long time to pay."

Following the successful compensation claim, Mr Ferguson could now consider applying for a bankruptcy order against Miss Vaughan to obtain the awarded £5,262.