Pedestrian Hit By Motorbike - £12,000
Lauren was waiting to cross a road congested with vehicles queuing at a red light. One driver indicated to Lauren she should walk in front of his stationary car. As she did so, however, a speeding motorbike passed along the inside lane of the traffic, knocking her to the ground.
Lauren was in her second year at the University of Plymouth where she was studying for a degree in criminal justice studies with law. On the afternoon 24 January 2007, she left her house and began making her way to the shopping centre known as Mutley. She was on her own and enjoying a leisurely pace as she walked to the end of the residential street in which she lived, before stopping to cross the busier Greenbank road.
As there was a junction at the end of the road controlled by traffic lights, a queue of vehicles waiting at a red light had formed. This ran along the side of the road on which Lauren stood, and thus the driver to her right soon noticed she was waiting for a break in the traffic. Consequently he signalled to Lauren, suggesting with eye contact and hand gestures that she should pass safely in front of his car. There was no zebra or pelican crossing, and so she put her hand up to thank him and stepped off the pavement and into the road.
As she passed his car, she continued looking towards her right until she approached the dotted line in the middle of the road. She then began to look in the other direction, towards the left, to check it was safe to cross. Lauren then passed over the white line, still looking to see if anything was coming the other way.
It was then that, all of a sudden and without any warning, she was hit by a motorbike overtaking the queuing traffic. It had come speeding from the right, and the impact was so great she was thrown ten yards down the road, hitting the back of her head as she landed.
Feeling dazed, Lauren tried to get up, but her right leg collapsed and she experienced a sharp pain to both sides of her body. A pedestrian – another student called Sam – quickly came to her assistance, helping her to the pavement and obtaining the necessary details from the driver. Sam then walked her home, during which time he confirmed Lauren's suspicions that the motorbike was not only going too fast, but was travelling along the wrong side of the road.
When she got home, Lauren's housemates put her to bed and gave her some basic first aid. When she woke up in the morning, however, she couldn't move. She rang her GP who advised her to go straight to hospital. After being examined in A&E, Lauren was told she had suffered severe whiplash to her neck, possible cracked ribs and severe bruising to both hips. She also had swelling to her right leg, which subsequently developed a haematoma, leaving a noticeable dent in her calf muscle.
Lauren was told she would need regular sessions of physiotherapy, and it would take at least two years for her injuries to heal. The incident has made her nervous of crossing roads, while she also feels depressed as she can no longer exercise. She continues to be self-conscious about the dent in her leg, a result of the haematoma.
Lauren contacted Glynns to see if there was anything else she could do. We suggested that she had in fact been the victim of a road traffic accident, as the driver of the motorbike had failed to exercise due care and attention. We helped Lauren make a personal injury claim, and she was awarded £12,000 compensation.
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