Expert Lawyers Secured Out-Of-Court Settlement For Woman Determined To Make The Most Of Life

A woman whose life was “changed in a second” when her sister was killed and she was seriously injured herself when they were knocked over by a speeding car has spoken of her desire to “make the most of still being here” after expert lawyers at Irwin Mitchell secured her an undisclosed settlement.

Claire Child, 27, from Kingstanding, Birmingham was 30 weeks pregnant when she was hit by a car in July 2012 on Walsall Road in Great Barr. She was crossing the road with her sister, Sarah, who was also struck by the car and died from serious head injuries at the scene of the accident.

Twenty-seven-year-old Claire suffered nerve damage in her right leg as a result of the impact and was unable to walk on her own for two weeks due to the severity of cuts to her legs.

Claire, who was unable to return to her sales job at a plumbing products supplier, where her sisters Sarah and Hannah also used to work, instructed specialist serious injury lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to help her gain access to funds to cover her loss of earnings, as well as the costs of on-going treatment.

Since the crash Claire is still unable to sleep properly and suffers flashbacks of the incident when she was physically unable to help her sister Sarah because of her own injuries. Claire, who gave birth to her daughter Evie two months after the collision, said her daughter is now her main focus and she is determined to make the most of still being here.

Law firm Irwin Mitchell has now secured Claire an undisclosed out-of-court settlement after the driver’s insurers admitted liability for the accident. Amirul Islam was jailed for four years after a hearing at Birmingham Crown Court in June 2013 heard he had been driving at an average speed of 64mph and sounded his horn, expecting the sisters to move out of his way.

The judge said the restaurant owner had been driving aggressively before the crash happened, getting close to other cars and forcing them out of his way and that he was guilty of a “deliberate and arrogant piece of driving”.

Manisha Patel, an expert serious injury lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, who represented Claire, said: 

Claire has recently been able to secure a job and has returned to part-time employment.

Claire said: “My sisters and I have always been extremely close. We all worked together and Sarah and I lived together, but my life changed in a second that day when that speeding car hit us, I lost my big sister, my home, and my life as I knew it.

“I've had to learn to live with the guilt of being the one that survived the incident and know that I have to make the most of still being here too. Most of all, I have to get used to being afraid, because now I know that anyone is a potential killer and that's what people will never understand.

“No amount of money will make up for losing Sarah or the injuries I suffered, but holding those responsible for the incident to account feels like some form of justice in Sarah’s name. Hopefully, what happened to us will make others think about how they behave on the road and other families won’t have to go through what we have in the last three years.”