Broken bones, scarring and psychiatric trauma were the legacy of a short journey to the cinema for Ellie, aged 20, who came to Peter Savage at Medical Accident Group for help after the uninsured driver she was with crashed head-on into an oncoming car when overtaking.
Ellie, who then spent more than 11 weeks in hospital in three different hospitals, had to have multiple operations on her left leg, ankle and wrist as well as on her right leg and foot. She could not walk independently for another five months and not only suffers constant pain, but is also starting to suffer from osteoarthritis.
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Peter said: “I was very glad to be able to help her to come to a settlement for £525,000, which will help to support her for the rest of her life. It sounds like an enormous sum of money but she was only 20 when this happened and she faces a life with pain and disability because of this accident.
“She was working full-time and tried hard to do that again, though she had to change professions to do so. But her injuries made that impossible, even though her employer was sympathetic and tried to accommodate her needs.
“Since the accident, she has got married and she wants to start a family, but she and her husband, who provides a lot of the care that she now needs, know that it will be a challenge. I wanted to make sure that she had what she needed to live a good and happy life, just as she would have done before this happened to her.”
PTSD, stress and depression added to injuries.
Ellie not only suffered physically but also psychologically – she had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) for three years after the accident, frequent flashbacks to the accident and continues to suffer from depression. On a bad day, she cannot walk or stand for more than a few minutes at a time and is very easily tired.
