'i nearly lost my leg when my mobility scooter crashed in tenerife'

SONIA WOODWARD, NOW 63, WAS ON HOLIDAY WITH HER HUSBAND ALAN WHEN THE HORROR CRASH OCCURRED 16:39, 02 Feb 2025 A holidaymaker faced the grim prospect of losing her leg after a mobility

scooter she was using malfunctioned, leaving her with scarring that "looked like a shark bite". Sonia Woodward, 63, was enjoying a holiday in Tenerife with her husband Alan and

father Cyril Harwood in 2015 when the nightmare unfolded. She had rented the scooter to aid her elderly dad's mobility around the island and decided to give it a whirl within their

hotel premises before setting out for the day. But while Sonia was operating the scooter, the brakes failed, forcing her to swerve into a signpost to avoid hitting a crowd. The impact was so

severe that it gouged out a piece of her leg, and she was cautioned that amputation might be necessary. Sonia endured emergency surgery at a local Tenerife hospital and subsequent

operations back in the UK. By the time she returned home to Cambridge, her leg had turned black due to the severity of the injury. Miraculously, her leg was saved, but years on, she still

battles muscle and ankle weakness, skin hypersensitivity, scarring, and persistent pins and needles. Recently, Sonia was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a muscle condition thought to be related

to the accident. Sonia, who runs a rehabilitation company, shared: "My leg looks like I have suffered a shark bite." She added: "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.

Article continues below "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 insurers of the mobility scooter firm, but it wasn't without a decade-long struggle. She stated: "The whole ordeal has been absolutely horrendous and it

has taken 10 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." At the time of the accident in 2015, Sonia enlisted the expertise of Slater and Gordon Solicitors, although Mapfre initially rejected any notion of liability. The legal battle

saw Sonia awarded damages, but the insurer challenged the amount twice via appeals. It finally ended following a Court of Appeal decision in her favour regarding interest payments. Nicholas

Lukacs, a travel accident solicitor who took on Sonia's case, commented: "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." Article continues below "She has shown huge resilience

and determination and we are glad to have secured a positive outcome." Mapfre, when approached for a statement by SWNS, declined to comment.