Victoria was involved in an extremely serious crash in 2014 when a lorry driver knocked her off her bike and crushed her pelvis. She received innovative and life-saving treatment at the roadside by London’s Air Ambulance, but amongst many other injuries, lost her left leg in the crash. Despite a thorough police investigation, and a charge against the driver for Causing Serious Injury by Dangerous Driving (subsequent conviction of Careless Driving), what followed was years of litigation to access compensation.
Victoria became involved in campaigning on road danger reduction. Initially for the road on which her crash happened and then subsequently, having met the Chair of RoadPeace at a protest, she was employed by the charity in 2018 where she was Head of Policy, Campaigns and Communications until 2021.
It is her firm belief that PI lawyers do so much for victims, and civil compensation is an area that needs a strong voice representing the issues that affect claimants. She finds it shocking that some of the insurance industry is allowed to behave as it does, and that it is not more commonly known about. Victoria says “I had a fantastic lawyer for my claim who I am eternally grateful to. The insurance company I was claiming from treated me appallingly. I know from speaking to others that this is common, and despite initiatives like the ‘Serious Injury Guide’, some in the insurance industry continue to treat victims shockingly. Somehow the press narrative is still around ‘ambulance chasers’ and ‘crash for cash’, and not how the insurance industry receives money from every motorist and yet many do everything in their power to resist paying out when the worst has happened - delaying much needed rehabilitation for victims, or causing unnecessary stress to those bereaved.”