A WOMAN who was knocked down by a taxi in Welling has been awarded more than £1m compensation after a court heard she would never work again.

Kerry Rimer, now 33, was crossing Park View Road on September 25, 1997, when she was hit by a Ford Mondeo taxi driven by Keith Smith, of Eastgate Close, Thamesmead.

Miss Rimer, from West Sussex, sued Mr Smith's insurers who have accepted 70 per cent liability.

The High Court heard Miss Rimer spent five weeks in intensive care after the accident during which she suffered a fractured skull and brain haemorrhage as well as major fractures.

She has now lost her sense of taste and smell and spends much of her time in a wheelchair. Her IQ has dropped to borderline learning disabilities level.

Miss Rimer was about to start training as a bar manager at the time of the accident, had her own flat and was out-going and confident.

Now, said Judge John Altman, she would never be able to live independently and felt scared to go out alone.

"She had lived only a third of her active life. The accident has transformed and dominated the rest of it," he added.

December 21, 2001 16:00