by Alison Leon
24 August 2010
A nursing student who lost her leg in a road accident six years ago has been awarded £800,000 in a compensation claim.
Lisa Bennett, 43, was knocked off her 125cc motorbike in December 2004 whilst travelling to her first night shift at St Ann's Hospital. Not only did she lose her right leg below the knee, she suffered a fractured spine and shoulder, an injured left knee, and broken ribs. Ms Bennett also had to undergo a series of operations to combat infection, and despite using a prosthetic leg, still suffers such nervous pain that she is regularly confined to a wheelchair. The initial compensation claim she was awarded totalled £1 million, but in an out of court settlement a 20% reduction due to contributory negligence was made after it was revealed that Ms Bennett's headlight had not been illuminated.