A woman who suffered a broken jaw when thrown off a ride at Hull Fair three years ago has agreed a five-figure damages settlement with the operators.
Jade Harrison had to spend four days in hospital and needed metal plates inserting into her face.
She has since required psychological support and thousands of pounds worth of dental treatment as a result of the injuries she suffered.
Now, following the conclusion of her legal case, the 24-year-old nursery nurse feels she can finally start to put the incident behind her, although she admits it has changed her outlook on life.
“I’m a different person now to that one that got on that ride back in 2019,” she said.
“Back then I had no fears and I was up for anything really, but now I am averse to anything that has an element of risk. That’s ok, I’ve adapted to that as I need to feel safe, but it limits what you can do with family and friends.
“Simple fun things like jumping off the rocks into the sea on holiday. I just wouldn’t do that anymore as I wouldn’t be able to get past the fear of hitting a rock or being badly injured. That is how my mindset has changed.
“We recently visited Skegness and I just couldn’t go on any rides. Some of my family went on them, but I didn’t want them to. I couldn’t even watch. I can’t imagine I’ll ever change.”
Ride owners admitted liability for accident happening
Insurers acting on behalf of Taylor’s Fun Fairs, owners of the Airmaxx 360 ride Jade was on when thrown from her seat, admitted liability for the accident and injuries caused early on in a legal claim, led by our personal injury team at Hudgell Solicitors.
Witnesses on the night told how Jade was thrown around 10 to 15 feet from the ride. She also suffered cuts to her face, damage to her teeth and soft tissue damage to her thigh.
The admission of liability prior to a final financial settlement being agreed ensured Jade could benefit from extensive specialist dental treatment and eight sessions of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), aimed at helping her recovery from the psychological impact of what happened.
“I feel I’ve recovered well in the main and it certainly is not something which comes into my mind day to day anymore. I feel well health wise and I’m happy. I’m quite a resilient person and so I don’t suffer with anxiety anymore,” Jade said.
“In the weeks after my accident I was struggling and really anxious. I’d have nightmares many nights and wake up in a state of panic, but over time that went away. When Hull Fair was on last year I just avoided it. I had to drive by it a couple of times so I just made sure I didn’t look.”
Damages agreed out of court
Rebecca Cone, of Hudgell Solicitors’ personal injury claims team, handled the settlement negotiations and says was pleased to reach an agreement, and a five-figure compensation offer, without a need to take the case to court.
“This was a horrific accident which has obviously had a significant impact on Jade, so we were grateful for the early admission of liability by the defendants as this ensured we were able to push ahead and secure Jade psychological treatment quickly. This will certainly have helped Jade make the solid recovery she has,” she said.
“It also ensured that we could start dental treatment as soon as possible, with the majority of that now completed too.
“It was of course a shocking incident and one from which lessons must be learned. Accidents like this simply should not happen. We wish Jade well for the future.”
Jade says she took legal action after being told in hospital that had a child suffered the same accident, they would likely have died.
“There are too many cases of accidents at fairs and theme parks and when something like this happens there has to be full investigations and punishments. That will hopefully lead to better safety standards and less incidents like what happened to me,” she said.
If you or someone you know has suffered in any way through no fault of their own, then it’s important to get in touch sooner rather than later. All claims have a time limit, so contact us as soon as you recognise that you could need to make a claim.
The first thing you need to do to make an injury claim is to get in touch with us using our online personal injury claim form.
