Child in car seat: struck from rear - severe brain injury

Ms S was aged 2 at the date of the accident. Her family were driving on a motorway. Ms S was a rear seat passenger in her parents’ car. She was in an appropriate child seat positioned in the rear offside.

The car was in the middle lane of traffic and stationary in a traffic jam when it was hit from behind by the Defendant. Liability was disputed but conceded 9 months after the commencement of proceedings.

She was unconscious at the scene and was taken to hospital. She was unresponsive with a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 4/15 (very poor). She spent three and a half months in hospital and six months in intensive rehabilitation.

She has hearing and visual impairment, with no usable hearing in her right ear and some loss in her left ear. She has poor mobility and balance and precocious puberty. She is an uninhibited child and will remain a vulnerable adult.

It is anticipated that her mobility is likely to deteriorate as she reaches adulthood, and that she will become wholly wheelchair-dependent.

She remains severely disabled and dependent upon others. She will never be employed in gainful employment. She will require 24 hour care and supervision for the remainder of her life.

The claim was settled for a lump sum of £5.75 million including over £1,200,000 paid previously by way of interim payments. The first solicitors did not explain that interim payments were available. The legal costs were paid by the defendant.


Child in car seat: brain injuries were largely cognitive

Master N was 18 months old when his parents car, in which he was a passenger (in an approved child seat) was struck from the rear at speed.

He was severely injured, but made a good recovery from most of his physical injuries except that he was left with a slight hemi paresis.

His most serious problem though was a constellation of cognitive problems. He was left with severe learning difficulties and was very unlikely to be able to obtain paid employment.

He had very poor inertia and poor organisational skills so that he would need some care during his lifetime.

The claim was settled for a lump sum of £2.2 million. The legal costs were paid by the defendant.