Motorcycle accident news
09/12/2011

Woman's road crash claim returns to court

A woman from Wigan who accepted a £12,500 road accident claim for injuries she suffered twelve years ago is taking her case back to court in hopes of a larger payout.

The 50-year-old's accident claim solicitors argue that she lacked the mental capacity to reach a settlement with insurers in 2003.

They say she deserves £2.2m in personal injury compensation for the grievous head injury which has brought about a severe personality change.

The Appeal Court heard that she was knocked down by a motorbike whilst crossing the Doncaster Road in Barnsley, in June 1999.

Brain injuries sustained in the motorcycle crash lead to her developing an "organic personality disorder", the court was told – meaning she did not have the legal capacity to make an informed choice on the original offer.

In a statement, the woman claimed she was pressured into accepting the £12,500 road accident compensation before her case was due to be heard.

Describing the payout as ‘chickenfeed', she said she had been advised to accept it rather than risk an unsuccessful compensation claim.

Her personal injury lawyer told the court that his client's choices had been oversimplified at the first hearing.

"In this case, it could be said that a complex brain injury claim had been reduced to a simple binary decision of ‘accept £12,500 or risk losing all'," he said.

Judges have reserved their decision on whether to allow the revised road accident claim until an unspecified later date.