£55,000 damages for thumb injury

A plumber who permanently injured his thumb in a road traffic collision has received £55,000 in an out of court settlement. He now suffers with arthritis at the base of his left thumb. He had been driving his van when a car suddenly pulled out of a garage directly into his path, leaving him no time to avoid a collision, and the force of the impact caused the steering wheel to break from its column. His left thumb was caught in the spokes of the wheel as it collapsed. The self-employed man was unable to work for over a month due to his injuries. He had lost his left leg in an accident over 30 years ago and often uses crutches to get around his house, which was impacted by the injury to his thumb. His initial lawyer had strongly advised him to accept a settlement offer of just £2,500 for his claim.