Pensioner injured in hit-and-run accident claims for £150,000 in compensation
A Sussex pensioner is claiming up to £150,000 in injury compensation after she was the victim of a hit-and-run road accident in Hastings.
Shelagh Leach, 83, suffered serious personal injury after she was hit by a car outside a petrol station. The driver, Paul Barnard, accidentally mounted the pavement when he swerved to enter the filling station entrance. He then hit Ms Leach and drove off without stopping, leaving her suffering by the roadside.
Barnard was convicted at Hastings Magistrates’ Court of driving without due care and attention. Ms Leach’s solicitors have now started legal proceedings, seeking compensation of between £100,000 and £150,000 from the motorist’s insurance company.
Ms Leach, a retired teacher, spent nearly two months in hospital recovering from the accident. She suffered two broken legs and needed emergency surgery upon arriving at the hospital. Her solicitors claim that before the accident she was healthy and active, but the road accident has since left her traumatised and immobilised by her injuries.