Boy injured in car crash as baby wins interim award

A young boy who suffered terrible brain damage in a car accident when he was a baby has been awarded an interim payment of nearly half a million pounds damages.

Jahziah Williams, now seven, was just 25-days-old when a car being driven by his father, Anthony, collided with railings in June 2000.

He suffered a brain injury which has left him with a learning disability and a low attention and concentration span. The accident also caused him to be partially sighted.

He currently lives with his mother and nine-year-old brother in a two-bedroomed council flat, in Islington, North London, which, a court heard, was unsuitable for his needs.

Experts told the hearing that a three-bedroom ground floor flat, with a garden, would be more appropriate.

Despite this, Islington council has been unable to find more suitable accommodation because of the long waiting lists in the borough for council property.

In the first stage of the multi-million pound claim against his father and his father's insurers, Jahziah was awarded £450,000 compensation as part of an interim payment by a judge at the High Court, London.

Mrs Justice Dobbs said the cash would be used to pay for a new home for the family while the final claim for Jahziah's long-term care was processed.

She also indicated that the final payout which would eventually be awarded to Jahziah would be well in excess of the interim figure..