One teen aged car accident claim victim who was struck by a police cruiser during an emergency response will soon be the recipient of a large personal injury compensation settlement.
In December of 2006, then 13 year old Greg Love had been riding his bike less than 200 yards from his Bournemouth home when he was struck by a police cruiser travelling at high speed. Having been thrown into the air, Greg suffered serious injuries to his head which required three weeks of recovery time whilst he was in a coma. Greg’s injuries were so severe that he now requires twenty-four hour care around the clock both now and for the rest of his natural life.
On behalf of Greg, his family made a personal injury claim against the police in order to pay for his needed extensive care costs. His personal injury lawyers told the court that the police cruiser that struck him was responding to a disturbance without activating its sirens because they were inoperative. Greg’s legal team also told the court that despite the cruiser had received a message that the emergency was well under control, it was still travelling at a rate of speed 20 mph higher than the posted 30 mph speed limit. A report conducted by the Independent Police Complaints Commission had previously chosen not to assign any blame to the driver of the vehicle.
While the Dorset Police Authority has denied any liability for the car accident claim, it has agreed to settle outside of court with Greg and his family. The London High Court has just recently approved the settlement. While the exact compensatory figure that Greg has been awarded for his accident has not been revealed to the public, expectations are that is significantly large due to how serious his injuries were as a result of the traffic accident claim.