Man awarded £15,000 after traffic collision but has no memory of the incident

How to prove liability when the victim can’t testify?

The mental state of the victim posed several challenges when trying to claim compensation for his injuries. Because he had lost all memory of the incident, he could not testify when charges were brought to the motorist and their insurers.

The defendant and their insurers strenuously disputed liability throughout proceedings, stating that our client shouldn’t have been in the bus lane in the first place and that he must have been travelling extremely quickly to catch up to where they were after pulling out.

Without victim testimony and no confirmed independent witnesses, we had a curious challenge on our hands. Because our client could not remember what had happened, the third party’s version of events seemed to be undisputed and their insurers argued that he did not have any prospects of winning at trial. We disagreed and issued court proceedings on behalf of our client.

After approaching the Met Police to secure the collision report, we were able to prove that Mr Howe was entitled to travel in the bus lane during the operational hours of the incident as he was intending on turning left at the next side street, dismantling the defendant’s main argument.

No testimony, no problem

After we were able to prove, purely through evidence, that Mr Howe was completely entitled to be where he was at the time of the collision, the case started to look a lot different to the third party’s insurers.

They made an early offer of a 50/50 liability split in the settlement. However, on our advice, Mr Howe turned that down as he now had more than a chance to win the full compensation. Only once witness statements were exchanged and a trial date set did the defendant make a settlement offer on a 100% basis. Eventually, damages were settled for £15,000 for Mr Howe.

Express Solicitors’ Daniel Jamieson relished the challenge of this case and thought the circumstances made the outcome all the more satisfying, “Mr Howe should not be denied justice for his injuries just because he was unable to remember them. Relying on hard evidence and maintaining an ironclad commitment to our case won the day.”