Bartletts recently represented a pedestrian who was injured in a public car park by a motorist and was later able to successfully claim compensation. Mr P was walking across the car park on his way home from work, when a driver reversed out of a parking space and knocked him to the ground. Several witnesses to the accident later stated that the driver had reversed out of the parking space at speed, and apparently without checking his mirrors or blind spot before carrying out the manoeuvre.
Mr P sustained injuries to his ankle, knee and upper leg, and was taken to hospital for emergency medical treatment. He was subsequently unable to walk properly for three months, and was forced to take time off work due to his mobility issues. The pain, discomfort and inconvenience he experienced during that time was the main reason for bringing a personal injury claim against the motorist.
Our Legal Advice
Our specialist pedestrian accident solicitors advised Mr P that he had strong grounds for making a claim, and consequently agreed to represent him on a no win no fee basis. In correspondence with the motorist’s insurers, we argued that the accident and Mr P’s injuries were the result of irresponsible driving on the motorist’s part. The latter had pulled out of the parking space at unacceptably high speed, and had not looked in his mirrors or checked his blind spot carefully enough to notice Mr P before doing so. Witness statements corroborated this version of events, as well as the fact that the driver’s view of the space that he was reversing into was unobstructed.
Car drivers own pedestrians a duty of care when driving in car parks, meaning they are obliged to take reasonable care to avoid causing injuries to other road users. They must also abide by The Highway Code, which obliges motorists to ‘look carefully before you start reversing’ and to ‘check there are no pedestrians (particularly children), cyclists, other road users or obstructions in the road behind you’. In this instance, the driver had clearly breached the duty of care he owed Mr P, and had also failed to comply with The Highway Code. Mr P won his claim within a few months, and received a compensation settlement totalling £6,500.
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For specialist advice on your personal injury claim, call us now on Liverpool 0151 227 3391 or Chester 01244 645830 or Wrexham 01978 360056 or complete a Free Online Enquiry and we will soon be in touch.
