BABY SUES COPS
Tot cash claim over crash dad
EXCLUSIVE CHARLES YATES A BABY is set to become the youngest person ever to sue the police.
Three-month-old Amelia Thomson’s dad died when the car he was in crashed while being pursued by officers a week before her birth.
Lawyers acting for the tot are seeking damages from the force for the “loss of a parent”.
Liam Thomson, 23, below, was a passenger in the VW Golf that was involved in the crash with an unmarked police car on a winding, unlit country lane in thick fog.
Two officers who followed the Golf in a BMW are being investigated.
West Mercia police said a 22-year-old woman from Hereford is on bail after being arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission is also investigating the crash, in Pontrilas, Herefordshire, before Christmas.
Lawyer Nick Turner, who specialises in cases against the police, represents Liam’s family.
Liam’s two daughters, Amelia and Lola, aged five, will bring dependency claims against West Mercia police under the 1976 Fatal Accident Act.
Mr Turner, who works for Russell and Co, in Malvern, Worcs, said: “The dependents of the deceased can bring a dependency claim for loss of income.
“Liam was in full-time employment as a milker, herdsman and factory worker at the time of his death and you can project his future earnings.
“Amelia will certainly be the youngest dependent ever to bring such an action and the law may even need rewriting to deal with this instance.
“I do not believe there is a section on a child in gestation currently in the Act. The case will involve a serious six-figure payout to help finance the childrens’ future life, wellbeing and education up to the age of 18.”
The girls’ mum Sophie Morgan, 24, was in such shock after hearing of her childhood sweetheart Liam’s death she asked doctors if her baby could be induced. She said: “Amelia is the spit of Liam.
“She is a constant reminder of him and has his nose and his looks, just like her sister Lola did at that age.
“Two days after the accident I wanted to get the baby out and went to the hospital, but they wouldn’t do it and Amelia was born on Christmas Eve, exactly a week after the accident.”
Liam’s father Robert, 50, said: “The grandchildren are very precious, so for their sake we have to get to the bottom of what happened.
“Liam was very well loved and we want to find out what happened to get justice for him.”