Injured Woman Wins as Judge Resolves Mystery

In a highly unusual case, a woman has won the right to substantial damages after a judge used his common sense to resolve the mystery of how she came to be found in a car park, unconscious and seriously injured, on a cold winter's night.

The woman had not the slightest memory of how she had suffered a shattered left ankle and severe head injuries which would blight the rest of her life. The judge's task was also made harder by the absence of any witnesses to what had happened.

Her lawyers argued that she had been run over by a motorist. However, he denied that his car had hit her and said that, even if it had, he was totally unaware of it. Alternatively, he argued that the woman may have been assaulted elsewhere, or injured in some other way, before she even arrived in the car park.

In upholding the woman's claim, however, the judge described the motorist's hypothesis as 'highly improbable' to the point of being 'inconceivable'. Although he was an honest witness, and had been guilty of no more than 'momentary inattention', he was nevertheless held fully liable for the woman's injuries.

The collision was at very low speed, but scuffing on the woman's shoe indicated that the motorist had run over her left foot. The court found that the probable cause of her brain damage was her head hitting the ground. The injury was so severe that she now has difficulty speaking as well as suffering 'cognitive deficits' and weakness in her right arm.

The amount of the woman's damages award has yet to be assessed, but it is likely to be at least a six-figure sum.