Car crash victim rebuilds life after serious holiday car crash

A holidaymaker left seriously injured when two cars crashed into her family’s rented people-carrier has spoken for the first time about her recovery from the life-changing incident.

Marilyn Singleton, from Littleborough, sustained severe fractures to her left shoulder and severe bruising all over the left side of her upper body when a car collided head-on with the people-carrier driven by Marilyn’s partner, and another car then smashed into the rear of their vehicle.

The incident, on just the second day of a family holiday to Alicante in July 2008, was so serious that Marilyn, her granddaughter and niece all had to be pulled from the car by emergency services.

Travel law experts at Irwin Mitchell have now helped 62-year-old Marilyn secure a substantial five-figure settlement from the two drivers’ insurers to help with her continuing recovery from the ordeal and to limit the lasting impact the injuries have on her life.

The settlement includes funds for rehabilitation and medical costs, such as physiotherapy on her neck and shoulder to restore movement, as well as psychological therapy to help her deal with the emotional impact of being involved in a high speed car crash.

Marilyn’s injuries have left her unable to complete all of her responsibilities in her role as a Client Liaison Manager (which involves a lot of driving, lifting, and packing of residents’ belongings).

Despite strong resistance, Irwin Mitchell were successful with their arguments that Marilyn faces substantial risk of being left without a job in the future, and her injuries could severely affect her ability to secure a new role. Because of this, a large part of the settlement covers Marilyn’s potential future loss of earnings.

Marilyn said: “The car crash has done much more than just ruin a family holiday. It has completely restricted what I can do both at work and even just with simple things around the house.

“I can’t do any decorating and gardening which I used to love before the holiday. It has changed my life as it’s still just so painful doing simple everyday tasks most people take for granted, such as using a hairdryer.”

Jennifer Lund, a specialist solicitor in the international travel team at Irwin Mitchell, said: “The family is relieved to have received the funds to help Marilyn move on from a lengthy ordeal that continues to affect her life on a daily basis.

“Unfortunately her injuries have had a huge impact on how she carries out her work and this, coupled with the difficult economic climate within her industry, has left her at significant risk of finding herself without a job. Evidently, the damage to her neck and shoulder may affect her chances of securing future employment and so it was crucial to safeguard against this.

“Despite the crash being in Spain, we were able to pursue Marilyn’s case here in the UK directly against the Spanish insurers of the two drivers who caused her injuries, in conjunction with our Spanish office. Although she still suffers from both physical and mental pain, Marilyn is relieved that the family won’t be out of pocket if she has to leave her job.”

Marilyn said: “Sometimes it is still hard to believe that our relaxing family holiday ended the way it did, and the events of that day continue to cast a shadow over our lives.
“Although nothing can make up for what we’ve been through, we’re so relieved to have secured the money to help me rebuild my life without having to worry about the cost of the help and support I now need.”