She needs lifetime care after her parents’ stationary car was hit from behind by a van driven by a council worker, London’s High Court heard.
A young girl is to receive one of the biggest ever compensation awards of up to £28million after a devastating car crash shattered her dreams of growing up to be a vet.
She was a toddler when her parents’ stationary car was struck from behind by a van driven by a council worker, London’s High Court heard.
The “profoundly disabled” girl, who is still aged under ten, will never be able to speak or walk independently or use her arms and requires 24-hour care, said Mr Justice Foskett.
She grew up entirely normally and was a “happy and contented” child, said the judge.
At the age of three she told her mother she wanted to look after animals and be a vet when she grew up.
But the toddler suffered a life-threatening skull fracture in the crash near Winchester, Hants. She underwent extensive treatment including major surgery and then residential rehabilitation.
In many ways she had achieved a “remarkable recovery”, the judge said. That was thanks to medical professionals and her family who have “devoted themselves to her welfare and care”.
Hampshire County Council admitted liability for the accident and today agreed to pay her a lump sum of just under £9million.
She will also receive index-linked and tax-free annual payments to cover the costs of her care for the rest of her life.
The payments will start at £145,000 a year until the age of 12, and rise to £155,000 a year until she is 19.
They will then go up again to £250,000 a year for life.
The judge said that if the girl lives to about 70, as she is expected to, her compensation will total “in the region of £28million”.
That is “probably higher than any previous settlement or award made by the court”, he added.
The scale of the payout was due to the complexity of her needs and changes to compensation levels announced by Justice Secretary Liz Truss in February.
The judge said he was pleased the money would give the girl and her family security for life.
But he had “no doubt that her family would sacrifice every penny” to turn the clock back to before the accident.
Wishing the family all the best for the future, he said: “I have no hesitation in agreeing that this settlement is in her best interests.”
The girl’s lawyer Stuart McKechnie described it as a “record level of damages”.
Neil Block QC, for the council, said it was a “tragic” case and a “landmark” one because of the sums involved.
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Source: http://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3114968/car-crash-compensation-girl-28-million-pounds-left-disabled/