A woman is claiming an accident compensation payout following an accident in which her leg was crushed by a parked car.
The woman had parked her car on a slope whilst visiting her sister when the incident took place in August 2007. The Vauxhall Signum vehicle had its engine turned off and the handbrake applied when the woman got out of the car.
However, as she was standing behind it, the car began to roll backwards and crushed her leg against a fixed bollard in the road.
As a result of the accident, the woman suffered serious injuries to her leg, and was forced to spend ten days in hospital. She also had to take six months off work following the accident and has now been left with severe scarring and a limp.
According to The Scotsman newspaper, the woman is now seeking an accident compensation payout from General Motors, the manufacturers of her car. She is claiming that the vehicle's handbrake was defective, which led to the accident taking place.
However, General Motors has argued that, if the handbrake had been applied correctly, there would have been no problem with it. Their argument is despite Vauxhall Signum and Vectra cars being recalled in 2008 following several incidents of vehicles rolling once the handbrake had been applied.
The manufacturer maintains that these incidents only took place if the handbrake had not been applied in the correct manner.
If the woman is successful, she looks likely to claim an accident compensation payout of £85,300.