Mother In Line For 500,000 Personal Injury Payout After Car Crash On Poorly Maintained Road

A mother could be in line for a 500,000 personal injury payout after judges ruled

a council's failure to maintain a road contributed to her car crash.

Sarah Russell, 53, of Dumfries, was driving her 15-year-old son to school in Sussex when her car 'dropped off' a verge and spun out of control hitting a tree.

The accident, in March 2004, left Mrs Russell with severe head injuries and in a coma. She underwent six months of rehabilitation before learning to walk again.

The Appeal Court , in London , heard that the verge was depressed by almost six inches because it was regularly used to park cars by anglers fishing in a nearby river.

Sussex County Council had argued it was being burdened with an "impossibly high standard" of maintenance in the case.

However, judges found it had breached the duty of care it owed Mrs Russell.

Despite driving at 45mph on the rural road, which had a limit of 60mph, the court found Mrs Russell's speed was "too fast" for the icy conditions and that she was 50 per cent responsible for the crash on the A29 near Wareham.

West Sussex County Council's barrister, Edward Faulks QC, said the case had "provoked considerable disquiet among highway authorities about the standard of maintenance required of them".

However, Lord Justice Wilson, sitting with Lady Justice Arden and Mr Justice Henderson, said the council "could reasonably have been expected to know that the height of the drop-off was likely to cause danger to users of the highway".

The court's decision opens the way for Mrs Russell to seek compensation for her injuries, which her solicitor husband, Colin, 54, said is likely to come to 500,000, even on a 50 per cent liability basis.

The couple had moved to Scotland , he added, in order to be close to the Headway Centre, in Dumfries , whose help has brought a marked improvement in Mrs Russell's condition.

by: Nigel Rutherforde

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