A woman was told she could lose her leg after a mobility scooter she was using on holiday malfunctioned – leaving her with scarring that “looks like a shark bite”. Sonia Woodward, now 63, was on holiday with her husband Alan and her father Cyril Harwood in Tenerife back in 2015 when the horror crash occurred.
She had hired a mobility scooter to help her elderly dad move around the island and decided to test it in their hotel’s grounds before they headed out for the day. However, while Sonia, from Cambridge, was driving the vehicle, the brakes failed – forcing her to steer into a signpost to avoid crashing into a group of people.
The collision tore a chunk out of her leg – and the damage was so bad she was warned it might have to be amputated. Sonia had to pay for emergency surgery in a local hospital in Tenerife and then undergo further surgery when she returned to the UK.Her leg was so injured it had turned black by the time she made it home.
Thankfully, Sonia’s leg was ultimately saved – but even now, almost a decade later, she suffers from muscle and ankle weakness, skin hypersensitivity, scarring, and frequent pins and needles. She was also recently diagnosed with a muscle condition called fibromyalgia – which has been linked to the incident.Sonia, who owns a rehabilitation company, said: “My leg looks like I have suffered a shark bite.
“Even now, all these years later, I am living with the consequences of what happened. My ankle continues to give way on me. My muscles aren’t very good.I have hypersensitivity to the extent that even bedsheets can irritate my skin.
“I have to wear a pressure sock during the day, and, with the scarring and swelling of my ankle, I don’t like to wear dresses anymore.”
Sonia secured a settlement from Mapfre, the mobility scooter company’s insurers, but the process took 10 years. She said: “The whole ordeal has been absolutely horrendous and it has taken ten years to get this settled.My family and I even had to appear in court.
“But I am a strong person, so I was not going to give in to these insurers. I was determined to fight.”
Sonia sought legal help from law firm Slater and Gordon in 2015 at the time of the accident, but Mapfre initially denied any liability. As the case moved through the courts Sonia was awarded damages but the company twice appealed the figure.A settlement was only finalised when the Court of Appeal ruled in Sonia’s favour, in a dispute over interest.
Nicholas Lukacs, a travel accident lawyer who worked on Sonia’s case, said: “This was an absolutely horrific incident for Sonia, who went from enjoying a holiday with family and friends to facing the very real prospect of having to lose her leg due to the severity of the injury she suffered on this defective scooter.
“We have supported Sonia through what proved a very extensive process to finalise a settlement, successfully winning two appeals brought by the defendant along the way. She has shown huge resilience and determination and we are glad to have secured a positive outcome.”
Mapfre declined to comment.