Accident victim gets £8,000 payment

8:32am Tuesday 15th April 2008

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A MAN whose skull was fractured when he was knocked down by an underage driver has been awarded £8,000 in damages.

Peter Ives, 60, was walking his dog outside his home in Quarrington Hill, County Durham, a year ago when he was hit by a car being driven by a 15-year-old youth.

The driver, who appeared at Durham Crown Court in March and admitted dangerous driving and driving with excess alcohol, without insurance or a licence, was given a one-year detention and training order and banned from driving for three years.

The teenager ran off after the incident, and was arrested when he was found hiding in a garden farther along the estate.

His passenger, who was insured to drive the Ford Focus vehicle for his work, was arrested at the scene.

The court was told how the 21- year-old had been pestered by the youth to allow him to drive the car and eventually relented.

He admitted aggravated vehicle- taking and was given a 12- month jail sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

Mr Ives said: "The car mounted the pavement outside my house and hit me. It crashed through a garden wall and into a parked car, with two people sat inside.

"I was knocked unconscious and was taken to the University Hospital of North Durham, where they diagnosed a hairline fracture of my skull.

"I had recently had a knee replacement and was walking with the aid of a stick at the time.

"The accident meant that my wound was reopened and I had to have more surgery. I also suffered cuts and bruises on my face, leg and shoulder."

With the support of his trade union, Unite, and personal injury specialist Thompsons Solicitors, a claim was made against the young driver, which was met by the vehicle owner's insurance company, even though they had not insured the teenager.

Davey Hall, the regional secretary of Unite, said: "There are many thousands of accidents on the road each year that involve individuals who flout the law by failing to stop at the scene.

"Fortunately, Mr Ives was a Unite member and was able to get the compensation he deserves for the injuries he suffered and the time he had to have off work."