Compensation Received Due to Multiple Vehicle Rear End Shunt
The Claimant was a 31 year old female involved in a road traffic accident in March 2008. The personal injury occurred as the Claimant was stationary in her vehicle at the rear of a queue of traffic. Two further vehicles pulled up behind the Claimant but the Defendant failed to stop and collided with the rear of the queue. This sent a series of collisions along the queue until a final impact occurred with the rear of the Claimant’s vehicle.
Liability was disputed by the insurers of all three vehicles behind the Claimant, each blaming the other for responsibility as it was alleged by the Defendant that a collision had already occurred by the time he was negligent. Ultimately the insurer for the Defendant agreed to deal with the claim due to the weight of evidence against the Defendant, who had stopped cooperating with ongoing investigations.
The Claimant suffered a soft tissue injury to her cervical spine which on assessment by the medical expert was attributed to the accident for six months. It was held that due to the Claimant’s profession as a child carer her injuries were exacerbated by the regular bending and lifting that was required. Settlement was agreed for the personal injury in the sum of £1,700.00. The Defendant insurer also agreed to pay special damages including substantial loss of use of the Claimant’s vehicle and the subsequent claim of the hire company for the replacement vehicle that was eventually provided. Total settlement amounted to £3,813.38 for the complete personal injury claim.