Andrew Howe was struck by a passing articulated lorry on 11 September 2007 while standing by his car. The High Court decided he was not at fault, in a ruling on 5 January 2010.
Mr Howe sustained severe injuries including a traumatic amputation of his right leg at the thigh and degloving of his left which resulted in surgical amputation of that leg as well. He also had a crushing fracture of his pelvis, a dislocated elbow and a fracture of the clavicle.
At the time of the accident, the claimant had parked his Peugeot 206 car on the zig-zag lines of a pelican crossing on the A619 Chatworth road in Cheshire town.
Mr Howe had opened his driver’s door, got out, leaned back to retrieve his mobile phone from the passenger seat when the articulated lorry collided with his door and Mr Howe.
The lorry driver stated that Mr Howe opened his door and got out at a point when his lorry was so close that it was impossible to avoid the collision. Mr Howe however could not remember standing up again outside the car when the lorry struck him.
Although he could not remember looking back along the road before getting out of the car, Mr Howe stated that he was particularly careful when getting in and out of his car as a matter of habit because he lived on a narrow lane.
Mr Howe said, he parked on the zig-zag markings because he wanted to park close to the tile shop so that he would not have to carry tiles he intended to buy. The lorry driver argued that by parking within the zig-zag area of the pedestrian crossing, in breach of the Highway Code and the Regulations governing Mr Howe had parked at a distance from the kerb and failed to look behind before getting out of his car.
In dismissing the lorry driver’s arguments the Judge Mrs Justice Swift stated: “The purpose of the zig-zag lines on each side of a pelican crossing is to ensure that the pedestrians using the crossing can see and can be seen.
“The presence of a car parked within the controlled area of such a crossing is just as obvious to vehicles approaching from behind as it were lawfully parked just outside that controlled area.
“The fact that Mr Howe had parked his car illegally did not cause the accident”. 
Mr Howe's case will now proceed to the next stage for assessment of his damages resulting from the car accident. He is expected to receive significant compensation.
Anyone suffering loss or injury as a result of a car or road traffic accident could be entitled to compensation. Our free Car Accident Compensation Guide provides more details.