£1m payout to woman hit by a car at age of 13
A YOUNG woman who suffered horrific injuries after being knocked down when she was a schoolgirl will receive more than £1million compensation following a lengthy legal battle.
Lesley Jackson was 13 when she was struck by a car moments after stepping off a school bus in January 2004.
She was left with serious head injuries, memory loss and a smashed pelvis after being hit outside her family home on the A98 near New Byth, Aberdeenshire.
Ms Jackson, 23, was pursuing damages of £2.25million from driver Andrew Murray.
At the Court of Session in Edinburgh, Lord Tyre initially ruled Ms Jackson was 90 per cent responsible.
He described her actions in running across the road as “an act of reckless folly” and said she was entitled to just 10 per cent of the compensation.
Ms Jackson challenged this but Lord Drummond Young ruled she was still 70 per cent to blame – giving her £750,000.
She went to the Supreme Court in London which yesterday ruled Ms Jackson is entitled to half the agreed damages of £2.25million.
Lord Reed, who sat with Lady Hale, and Lords Wilson, Carnwath and Hodge, said three judges thought blame was “equal”.
He said: “As it appears to the majority of the court the driver’s conduct played an equal role to that of the child in causing the damage and was equally blameworthy.”
Ms Jackson was hit by the car as she crossed the rural carriageway with her twin sister Lindsay.
Police investigated the incident but no one was charged.
As it appears to the majority of the court the driver’s conduct played an equal role to that of the child in causing the damage and was equally blameworthy
The court heard the parked minibus was displaying hazard lights and Mr Murray, approaching at 50mph, had not slowed down.
Ms Jackson was “very nearly clear” but was clipped by the car.
The court ruled that Mr Murray should have slowed down when he noticed the bus with its hazard lights on.
Her father, Ian, who still lives at the Turriff farm, previously said that his daughter had suffered a great deal of pain since the accident.
Metal pins hold one of her knees and ankles together and her pelvis broke detaching from her body.
She recently qualified as a dentist and has been working at a practice near her home in Kirkcaldy, Fife, but may have to go part-time on medical advice.
Mr Jackson said the family couldn’t understand why the court previously ruled that his daughter was partially responsible.
He said: “She was almost across when he hit her. He admitted he didn’t slow down at all.
“If he had been going 5mph slower he wouldn’t have hit her.”
