‘MY RELIEF AFTER HULL FAIR HORROR’
VICTIM SPEAKS AS RIDE OWNER ADMITS FAULT
THE operators of a fairground ride that left a young woman unable to smile when she was thrown from her seat at Hull Fair,have admitted fault for the accident, which she says has left her with PTSD.
It is a year since Jade Harrison, now 22, of north Hull, was flung “like a ragdoll” through the air from the Airmaxx 360 in front of a horrified crowd at a Hull Fair on October 7.
Suffering severe facial injuries, Jade spent four days in hospital and needed a three-hour operation on her broken jaw to have metal plates inserted into her mouth. She lost three teeth and has since undergone £4,000 of dental work to restore her face.
The ride operator, Taylor’s Fun Fairs, did not dispute claims from Jade’s legal team, Hudgell Solicitors, - that it had “failed to adequately inspect the ride”, and that “a failure to enforce an adequate system of inspection had left riders at risk” when admitting liability for the accident.
Speaking a year on, Jade says the accident has had a huge impact on her life, but is relieved liability has been accepted.
“I’m up and down emotionally”, she said, agreeing to share an injury picture which makes her self conscious due to her swollen face.
“On the whole I’ve worked hard to not let the accident get me down.
“I’m having counselling to help me move on from the accident and learn coping strategies as they established that I had moderate PTSD.
“I wasn’t really accepting what had happened, I was just trying to ignore it and push it to the back of my mind, which I now know is no way of coping with something.
“I do think about the accident sometimes. When I meet people it’s usually something that ends up coming up in conversation.
“It doesn’t feel like it’s been a year, it only feels like last week. I’m glad that liability has been accepted now as now I’m not worrying waiting, it’s a weight lifted.”
As part of her personal injury legal claim, Jade was placed on a 14 session Cognitive Behavioural Therapy course, aimed at helping her recovery from the psychological impact of what happened to her.
She added: “A lot of the therapy I have had has been to help me try and put what happened in the past, which has been tough.
“I struggled to accept what had happened to me and for a long time I was always thinking ‘why me?’
“My treatment has been helping me accept that it happened and to try and develop coping strategies for when things affect me.
“I’ve certainly become more anxious, and I was quite an anxious person already.
“When situations arise I’ll find myself imagining the worst case scenario and fretting. I’m also anxious in cars and quite jumpy if there are any loud noises at all.”
Jade said she is only one year into a two-year recovery for her jaw, and still cannot eat properly. She is also still having problems with her leg and still cannot feel a part of it.
She said: “There’s some things I can’t eat yet, like chewing gum, apples, steak, really hard foods, I get worried when I eat a Haribo still.
“I’ve had scans and lots of appointments for my leg, but so far they’ve said it’s a hematoma and extreme nerve damage as I still can’t feel that part of my leg when I touch it and it’s still swollen.
“My face is looking normal now, I’ve got the scar under my chin, which you can only see if I lift my head up. My smile luckily went back to normal after a few months.
“My dentist said that it’s very common for your face to drop at one side slightly after an operation that big, because of all the nerves in your face.”
Jade now studies Childhood Studies at the University of Hull and works part-time at Papa’s fish and chip shop in Willerby.
Becci Ashfield, a specialist in personal injury claims at Hudgell Solicitors said Jade still requires substantial further dental treatment, as well as expert medical assessments to consider any possible longer-term impact of her injuries, which have included significant swelling to her thigh.
She said: “This was a truly horrific accident, which cast a shadow over Hull Fair last year and has had a significant impact on Jade physically and psychologically.
“Thankfully, the defendants were quick to admit liability and that has paved the way for Jade to also benefit from costly, specialist dental treatment.
“Even now Jade still has some extensive dental work ahead of her, and once this is completed we will be seeking expert medical opinion on any longer term impact of her injuries.”
The Mail has contacted Taylor’s
Fun Fairs for comment.