Personal Injury Claims and the Defence of Automatism

The personal injury team at Bell Lax led by Stuart Andrews have successfully recovered compensation for a 28-year-old lady who sustained multiple severe injuries after a car drove into her whilst she was walking along the pavement.

In this case, liability was denied throughout the whole of the claim with the Defendant relying on the defence of automatism. The Defendant alleged that she suffered an epileptic attack whilst driving which resulted in a blackout. She said this caused her to lose control over her vehicle which then mounted the pavement and collided with our client.

The Defence of automatism can allow the Defendant to avoid responsibility for causing an accident on the basis they were not consciously aware of or in control of their actions.

The most common situations involve motorists suffering an epileptic attack, stroke or a heart attack, causing them to lose control over their vehicle.

The Defence would fail however, if the Defendant was aware that they were suffering from or at risk of suffering from such a condition and had failed to keep it under control for example, by taking prescribed medication.  

Also, there are certain conditions which require the individual to report the same to the DVLA and to surrender their driving licence.  In cases of epilepsy a person can only apply for their licence to be reinstated if they can show that their condition has been controlled for 12 months and that they have not experienced any fits or other epileptic incidents such as auras during this time.

We are delighted that we were able to obtain a successful result for our client despite this Defence being raised.  Stuart was assisted by our Personal Injury Lawyer, Monika Williams and both have many years of experience of successfully representing the victims of road traffic accidents. 

We are very passionate about helping innocent victims and their families in such circumstances. We strive to get the best results for our clients with empathy and understanding.

When facing an uncertain future, it is vitally important that you have the right people in your corner, making the process of pursuing compensation as stress-free as possible.

If you think that we may be able to help you or someone you know, please do not hesitate to call us today on 0121 355 0011.  Where appropriate, we will act for you on a no win no fee basis and at all stages, we will seek to ensure that you are not exposed to having to pay anything to anybody.