A 10-year-old boy whose family fought a six year battle for compensation after he was left paralysed from the neck down by a road accident won a £5.1m settlement yesterday - a record for his type of disability and the third highest award made in a personal injury case.
Faisal Luhar, who now breathes only with a ventilator, was left with devastating injuries after he ran into the path of a car moving at 40 mph in a 30mph zone while out shopping with his father, Yusuf, in November 1993. His injuries were so bad he is thought to have survived only because an ambulance with an accident and emergency consultant on board happened to be near at the time.
The first solicitor the family consulted told them they had no case and Mr Luhar was even sued by the driver's insurers, who argued that he should have held on to the boy more tightly. At the trial, lawyers for the insurers argued that the driver, Paul Fox, had not been driving too fast and that the accident would have happened if he had been observing the speed limit.
But the driver was held liable for the accident and the insurers' claim against Mr Luhar failed. The family's solicitor, Stuart Henderson, of Irwin Mitchell in Birmingham, said: "It's quite a common thing in child accident cases for parents to be sued. Can you imagine how you'd feel? You feel guilty enough because of the accident, then you're told you're responsible. Often the case against the parent is so slim, but insurance companies still insist on bringing the case."
The settlement agreed between the two sides was approved at the high court in Birmingham yesterday. It will provide 24-hour care, buying Faisal medical and educational equipment, and compensating him for loss of future earnings. The boy's lawyers argued that Faisal, who has a high IQ, would have had a professional career. His round-the-clock care by two skilled workers at a time (eight carers in all) costs £175,000 a year.
Faisal, who was injured crossing the road at Small Heath, Birmingham, spent more than two years in the regional spinal injuries unit in Southport, Merseyside. He had injuries to his spinal cord which left him tetraplegic, confined to a wheelchair and dependent on a ventilator.
He attends Wilson Stuart special school in Perry Barr, Birmingham, and since returning home to Moseley in July 1996, has been cared for by Yusuf, 45, and his mother Maimuna, 42, with help from NHS carers. The cost of his care will now come from the settlement.
Mr Luhar, an immigration counsellor, said: "We're just relieved that it's all over and we can get on with our lives. We've no joy or elation at the award. The point of this litigation was to offer Faisal the security that he will be looked after, and us the peace of mind that he would not have to enter an institution in later life."
Faisal's claim was brought with the help of legal aid, but in future it may be still harder to fight such cases since legal aid will be withdrawn next month from personal injury cases. Accident victims wanting to sue for compensation may have to use solicitors on a no win, no fee basis.
Mr Henderson said of Faisal's case: "I don't know how many firms would have taken it on a no win, no fee basis." He said the case had been "high-risk" because of the issues of whether the driver was driving too fast and whether the accident would have happened anyway, even at 30 mph.
Mr Luhar, speaking of his son's loss of independence, said: "One incident which brought home the enormity of what happened was when he said to me, 'If I could only wipe the tears from my eyes with my own hands, that would make me so happy'."
