A young woman has been awarded a record £8.5 million compensation for the 24-hour care she needs after being knocked down as a child by a motorist. Leanne Evans was 13 when she was hit on a pelican crossing as she walked home from school and suffered a serious brain injury.
Now aged 22, she needs eight carers on a round-the-clock basis, has severe memory impairment and relies on a wheelchair for mobility. The compensation will pay for the care she requires for the rest of her life and help to provide her with some quality of life, say her parents with whom she lives in a specially adapted house.

It is believed that her payout, awarded at the High Court in Birmingham, is the largest ever given for a personal injury. The previous highest award for personal injury is thought to have been £7 million. Even higher sums have been awarded in medical negligence cases.

Miss Evans’ parents Ivor and Sandra Evans, of Birmingham, said the award will help to pay for the physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, and psychotherapy she needs. Mr Evans, 49, a roof tiler, said: “We are very pleased for Leanne. This award will at least give her a limited quality of life and allow her to enjoy some of the things that every other 22-year-old likes to do, like going to Westlife pop concerts, going to the theatre and having a holiday, as well as making sure she has all the medical care that she needs.

The judge congratulated the Evans family and the driver’s insurers for their “compromise” and “common sense” in agreeing on the settlement. The court heard that Miss Evans had already been paid £340,000 in compensation, which helped towards equipment and medical care. She will now receive a further £8.2 million, bringing the total compensation awarded to just over £8.5 million. Miss Evans chose not to attend the court with her parents. Last night Mr Langton said: “People tend to think that a compensation payment is like a lottery win. Having known what this family has been through - and will carry on going through - I am sure no one would want to swap places with them.”

The news stories published on our website are done so for the interest of our visitors, stories we publish have been widely reported in the media. By us publishing a story on this website does not infer or suggest that Pinto Potts LLP Solicitors have any knowledge or involvement with cases or persons mentioned.

If you would like to speak to one of our personal injury Solicitors for free legal advice, call us now on Freephone: 0800 316 4434 or click here to make an online enquiry.