Chloe (name changed to protect her identity) was walking through a supermarket car park when the car she was behind suddenly reversed out of the space and into her, because they hadn’t checked for pedestrians before pulling out. The car hit her right leg, knocked her to the ground and continued to reverse over her leg until the driver was alerted by passers-by to stop, at which point the driver then drove forward to release her from under the car.
Chloe was dazed but didn’t lose consciousness and became immediately aware of pain in her right ankle. At the time she was wearing training shoes, which didn’t offer any protection from the weight of a car. Chloe was taken to the local hospital, where they diagnosed a fractured right ankle which required her to remain in hospital for stabilisation surgery. After the surgery Chloe was in a plaster cast for 8 weeks, unable to bear weight on her injured leg. Chloe continued to be seen in the fracture clinic on a regular basis. The cast was eventually changed to a boot which she had to wear for 3 weeks, followed by physiotherapy for about 4 months.
In June 2019 Chloe underwent surgery to remove the metalwork used to repair her ankle. This helped with her symptoms, but she continued to have issues. Now three years on from her accident, she was still suffering from weakness of the tendons, and had mild swelling which got worse if she was on her feet for more than 2 hours. After this point the pain would start to increase as well.
It is expected that within the next five years, Chloe will require further surgery to provide her with good function of the ankle so that she can continue working. In the long term, she is also likely to suffer with degeneration of the mobility in her ankle at a faster rate than if she hadn’t been injured.
I was able to settle Chloe’s claim for £70,000, giving her some financial security, and allowing her to access private medical treatment when the time does come for further surgery on her ankle.
