Specialist travel solicitors from Irwin Mitchell helped a student after she suffered significant injuries in a car crash whilst she was working abroad.
The 19 year old was working a ski season in Bourg Saint Maurice, France, with several friends as part of her gap year before she was set to start a languages course at university.
On 11 April 2009, our client accepted a lift with friends working at the ski resort and sat in one of the back seats. The driver, a French national, lost control of their vehicle which caused it to overturn and fall 50 feet before crashing into trees.
As a result of the accident, the girl suffered a serious fracture to the thoracic vertebrae, in the middle of her spine, which required her to stay in hospital for one week before being allowed to travel back to the UK. The fracture was fortunately managed without surgery, although our client experienced pain for several months before showing any signs of improvement. Physiotherapy was organised for our client, after an examination from an expert Orthopaedic surgeon, which assisted with her recovery.
The girl’s injuries caused her to experience problems with sitting in one place for a particular length of time which, as a university student, caused her discomfort when attending lectures and seminars. Additionally, our client was a keen sports person before her accident; her injuries caused her to temporarily stop her sporting and fitness activities.
The student was represented by international personal injury expert Joseph Dawson, who conducted the case against the French insurance company. A settlement was agreed in the sum of £32,500 in an out of court settlement which took into account our client’s injuries and expenses.
Commenting on the case, Joseph said: “The accident resulted in horrendous injuries leaving long term damage to her back. This experience was meant to be a great opportunity and, instead, she was unable to continue working or do any of the planned activities.
“We are pleased to have secured compensation her and that she can now move forward from this ordeal.”
We have helped thousands of people to claim millions of pounds of compensation following road traffic accidents abroad. See our Holiday Accidents & Illness Claims page to see how we can help you.
Back to Client Stories
