Industry news roundup: week ended 23 Dec 2013:
When it comes to accidents, the personal injury compensation claimants can be awarded is easily in the tens of thousands of pounds.
As if to prove the point I’m making, there were not one but two big news stories this week revolving around accident claims and big-ticket damages awards. The first revolved around an 82 year old pensioner that raked in some £12,000 from her personal injury claim after she fell and fractured her ankle whilst taking a tour of Killearn’s Glengoyne Distillery. The Somerset native had been on a coach tour of Scotland at the time of the accident, which saw her tripping down the stairs at the distillery.
I feel terrible for poor woman, considering she was in considerable pain after her fall. Of course, it could have been worse – she could have been hit in the eye with a dart, which is what happened to 11 year old Toby Corps from Ashford!
Poor Toby – he had been on holiday in Tunisia with his family several years ago at the time of the incident when a game of darts organised by staff at the hotel he was staying wen terribly awry. Another child tossed the dart towards him, piercing his left eye and requiring surgery for a detached retina and for the removal of a cataract. Finally, the poor lad has had his day in court – or at least his father has, on the boy’s behalf – and the writing on the wall says that he could walk away with around £50,000 in compensation.
So why is this so high? Well let’s be honest here – Toby’s young, with his whole life ahead of him, and he could be facing serious difficulties in his education and employment as a result of the injury. No word on how badly the lad’s vision might have been impaired by the incident, but it’s almost guaranteed to have left a considerable mark on Toby’s psyche at least – and it takes some time and effort to come back to what you might call ‘normal’ after a traumtatising experience like that. Then of course there’s just pain and suffering, which is always an important factor in calculating compensation awards. Hopefully poor Toby will get even more!