Girl, 10, who suffered brain damage in crash suing dad for ?200k
By Sarah Limbrick
A 10-year-old girl who survived life-changing injuries in a crash which killed her brother is suing her own father for damages of more than £200,000.
Arda Mosa is claiming compensation against Abdul Mosa, 51, after he hit a lorry head-on while driving on the wrong side of the road near the Channel Tunnel in Folkestone in 2014.
Mr Mosa later avoided jail after admitting causing death by dangerous driving and four counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving at Canterbury Crown Court.
The family were returning from a holiday in France when Mr Mosa drove his Kia Soul on the wrong side of the road and crashed into the lorry.
His seven-year-old son Alin was killed, and his younger son Ara, then six, was seriously injured.
Arda, then aged just 17 months, suffered severe brain injuries as well as more minor injuries. She is unlikely ever to be able to manage her own affairs as an adult.
She is taking legal action through her mother Huzan Mosa and it is understood that any compensation will be covered by Mr Mosa’s insurance company.
Mr and Mrs Mosa now live together in Tilsworth Road, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire.
A High Court writ details how Arda continues to suffer from sight problems, a squint, tongue thrusting, severe problems with cognition, moderate learning difficulties, poor concentration and is very slow at processing things.
She is socially isolated, has difficulty communicating with her peers and has problems using her arms and legs.
She also suffers from weakness, poor balance, mental and physical fatigue, anxiety and symptoms of panic.
Arda is seeking a lump sum of compensation for past losses, periodical payments for future financial losses and provisional damages allowing her to return to court to seek more compensation if her condition deteriorates.
The accident happened on August 29, 2014, on the A20 when Mr Mosa drove on the wrong side of the road shortly after leaving the Channel Tunnel.
He collided with a lorry driven by Anthony Brown, who suffered career-threatening fractures to his right arm.
During the hearing at Canterbury Crown Court in 2015[1], Judge James O’Mahony spared Mr Mosa a jail term, instead giving him a two-year sentence suspended for two years.
He banned him from driving for three years and imposed a tagged curfew on him at his home in Leeds for six months.
In mitigation, Mr Mosa’s lawyer Andrew Nuttall said: “This is an appalling case which arose out of a single mistake.
“The defendant started his punishment the moment his son died in his arms and he realized the enormity of his mistake.
“The harsh reality is that this defendant is going to be punished every minute of the rest of his life.”
The judge said that despite the aggravating features, jailing Mr Mosa would probably mean his surviving children would be taken into care because his wife was unable to cope.
The High Court writ issued by Mrs Mosa on behalf of Arda said her husband owed their daughter a duty to take reasonable care she was not injured and to drive the car to the standard of a prudent, experienced and reasonable car driver.
Instead, he drove negligently and has admitted liability for the crash, the writ says.
The writ was issued by Sarah Griggs of Irwin Mitchell. Manchester solicitors DWF are acting for Mr Mosa.
References
- ^ at Canterbury Crown Court in 2015 (www.kentonline.co.uk)