'Good Samaritan' compensated after lorry accident
A man who has been described as a ‘Good Samaritan’ has been awarded with a compensation claim of £1 million after he sustained severe personal injuries as a result of a road accident.
The man, who is in his forties, was also forced to leave his job because of the accident. The incident took place when the man had stopped to help a motorist who car had broken down, to push his vehicle away from the road and out of the flow of traffic that was building up.
A lorry driver behind tried to manoeuvre through the gap behind the man and the car, but in doing so he ended up driving over the man’s right foot. He suffered a range of injuries and this eventually resulted in amputation.
Man suffers severe injuries to foot
A no win no fee solicitor who specialises with cases involving personal injury spoke about the man’s condition and how the accident happened. He also spoke about the injuries that resulted from the accident.
He explained that: "My client suffered severe injuries as a result of this manoeuvre including the de-gloving of the tissues on and around his right foot.”
He went on to say that: “Essentially, a tyre rubbed and split all the skin off my client's foot including his heel. In addition his ankle was fractured and he received extensive injuries to his toes and left hand."
Lorry accident leads to amputation
The man was taken by ambulance to hospital where he received treatment and was kept there for more than two months. He underwent a number of operations to his right foot, which subsequently ended in the amputations to four toes.
He decided to take his case to court to seek compensation. He contacted a no win no fee solicitor to represent him in his claim for compensation. At the trial, the Judge accepted the incident was caused by the lorry driver attempting to drive through the gap rather than waiting.
The specialist who represented the man with his legal case said: "In return for helping a fellow motorist, my client received injuries of such severity that he ended up losing his career."
Patience is a virtue and vital
He added that: "If the defendant had simply exercised patience and waited until it was safe to proceed, my client would still be enjoying an extremely successful career he loved and an active life filled with sport.”
He went on to explain the effects of the accident: "As a consequence, my client now struggles with constant pain and infections to his injured foot and lives a life of extremely limited mobility.”
He concluded by saying that: “Although no amount of money can ever compensate what this accident has taken from my client, the sum awarded will hopefully allow him to accommodate any necessary changes to his lifestyle."
In November 2010, the no win no fee solicitor successfully negotiated a compensation claim of £1 million on behalf of the man.
Updated on 11/22/2010