Car accident news
01/12/2011

Ex-cop claims squad car road accident cost her career

A policewoman whose career was cut short by a road accident is suing her former employer for more than £500,000.

The 34-year-old was the front-seat passenger in a Kent Police squad car which collided with another vehicle whilst on an emergency call in July 2002.

London's High Court heard that she was still a probationary constable at the time of the car crash, which left her injured and severely traumatised.

Seven years later she would retire from the force on medical grounds and go to live with her parents in her native Armagh.

She later said the car accident had ‘completely ruined my life and my career', citing mental problems and three attempted suicides in the years that followed.

The Kent force has admitted liability for the accident, but is contesting the high value of her personal injury claim.

Personal injury lawyers for the police are arguing that the ex-constable's mental health was vulnerable even before her accident at work.

Debate continues on the role the road accident played in her deteriorating mental state.