Boyes Turner’s serious injury lawyers secured a settlement for a young woman who suffered multiple injuries including spinal fractures whilst a passenger in a car driven by her boyfriend. He lost control of the car which veered off the road and collided with a hedge and some trees. The police found him to have been driving with alcohol levels above the legal limit when they breathalysed him at the scene of the accident.Our client suffered multiple injuries including a cut on the back of her head, fractures and compression of her cervical (neck) spine, lacerations and embedded glass to her left wrist and hand, and lacerations and nerve injury to the right hand and index finger.She was taken by ambulance to A&E, where glass was removed from her hands and her lacerations were sutured. She was nursed on a spinal bed and in a neck brace at first, and then her cervical injury was treated in a halo jacket. She remained in hospital as an inpatient for several months. She later required further surgery to improve the appearance of scarring to her hands and face. We secured early rehabilitation funding for physiotherapy from the driver’s insurers. Our client had not suffered any loss of earnings, but her claim included a sum for the gratuitous care she received from her family. We pursued our client’s claim against the driver of the car. We vigorously fought his insurer’s attempt to reduce our client’s compensation for contributory negligence on the basis that she knew of his alcohol consumption when she got into the car.The claim settled by negotiated agreement without the need for court proceedings.