Teenager's leg is crushed under a double decker bus

Over £2 million in compensation for school girl who dreamed of becoming a doctor

Rebecca was a very bright, 13 year old grammar school student whose ambition was to become a doctor when she grew up. However, whilst walking to school one morning she was hit by a double decker bus on a pedestrian crossing. She was dragged under the wheel of the bus and suffered severe crushing and skin tearing injuries to her leg and foot.

The doctors fought to save her leg, which fortunately they were able to do but it was left with barely any function and very bad scarring. She has poor circulation, mobility difficulties and is in a lot of pain.

The bus driver’s insurers admitted liability and the bus driver was prosecuted by the police.

Rebecca went on to do extremely well in her GCSEs and A Levels but has had to abandon her dream of ever becoming a doctor due to her injuries.

Our firm argued that Rebecca would have reached her goal of becoming a doctor and we were able, through mediation, to negotiate a £2.35 million provisional settlement on her behalf. This means that if Rebecca suffers any deterioration in her leg which leads to amputation, she can apply for additional damages.

A leading personal injury QC commented in the mediation, that the settlement was the highest award for a non-amputation severe leg injury in the UK at that time (2013).

Rachel Rees acted on behalf of Rebecca and commented:

We had to let enough time pass until Rebecca's likely career path and long-term needs were clear to ensure we obtained the right settlement for her over her lifetime. This meant a long, hard road for Rebecca through her teens which she handled admirably despite suffering the indignity of covert surveillance by the Defendants which was very distressing.

Myself and all the team had to find the right balance to ensure we obtained all the detailed evidence needed whilst not intruding too much into her life during these crucial years of her development.

We built up a great trusting professional relationship with Rebecca and her family and she has been able to establish herself in a new specialist house so she no longer has to struggle with stairs and she can now afford to work reduced hours so she can keep doing the work she loves so passionately for as long as possible.

The names and identifying details of the client have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals involved.