Shropshire mother appeals over crash blame ruling
A mother has launched an appeal after being ruled partly to blame for the severe injuries suffered by her three-year-old daughter in a road crash.
Louise Williams, of Dudleston Heath, near Ellesmere, was deemed 25 per cent responsible for her toddler Emma's devastating injuries because she put her in a booster seat designed for children a couple of inches taller than her.
Emma was left with internal, brain and spinal injuries when her mum's car was hit near Wrexham in August 2006 by 18-year-old Dayne Williams, who died from his own injuries.
Her family are in line for a major compensation payout and Ms Williams' lawyers have now launched a bid at the Court of Appeal to overturn the ruling by a judge last April that she was one-quarter responsible for the injuries suffered by her daughter.
The London court was told it was the 18-year-old who should have been held entirely to blame for the smash, having lost control of his car and swerved into the family's Seat Leon on the A528.
His insurers managed to convince Mr Justice Blair last year Ms Williams had contributed by not placing the child into the appropriate Mamas & Papas five-point harness chair in the car.
Although heavy enough and placed in it properly, Emma was between two and three inches too short for the booster seat she was in, the court heard.
Graham Eklund QC said Ms Williams had been weaning Emma out of her baby seat, while the mum had assessed the situation and decided it was the most appropriate place for the child.
"As a result of Emma's father having died seven weeks before Emma was born, if anything Ms Williams had been a paranoid mother, following Emma about to ensure she was safe," he said.
"Each of the factors Ms Williams took into account were relevant and appropriate factors.
"Ms Williams could not be regarded as negligent in taking the decision that she did."
Even if the judge was right that Ms Williams should be held partly to blame, it was wrong to rule here as much as 25 per cent liable, the barrister concluded.
For the insurers, Jonathan Watt-Pringle QC said it was 'tragic' and 'sad', but parents doing their absolute best for their children sometimes act negligently and unwittingly cause them harm.
A judgment will be made at a later date.
