I LOST LEG 2YRS AGO & STILL NO COMPO
Hell of Smiler crash girl
A TEENAGER who lost a leg in the Alton Towers Smiler crash horror has not yet received compensation two years later.
Leah Washington is still waiting for a damages claim to be settled despite having a £60,000 prosthetic limb fitted and remaining in crippling pain.
The 19-year-old also needs more surgery for the life-changing injuries caused when the rollercoaster carriage she was in smashed into an empty car.
Interim payments have covered medical bills for her and boyfriend Joe Pugh, 20, whose kneecaps were shattered and who lost the use of a finger in the tragedy at the Staffordshire park in August 2015.
But the couple, from Barnsley, are still waiting to hear what level of compensation they will actually get. “They ® by JERRY LAWTON said it would take up to three years,” Leah said. “There are lots of meetings and specialists you have to see.
“I come home from work and all I want to do is get in bed. I’m always aching. It’s not really a life but it’s something I’ll have to live with.”
Leah’s family has moved into a rented bungalow so she does not have to navigate stairs. Her false leg – which contains a microprocessor knee – will need replacing every few years and will cost hundreds of thousands of pounds over her lifetime. Alton Towers said: “From the outset we have sought to provide assistance and support to those that were injured and their families.”
Leah’s story is featured on Channel 5’s Where There’s Blame There’s A Claim tonight at 9pm.