Mother sues car driver who left 16-year-old girl brain damaged

The mother of a teenage girl who was seriously brain damaged after being hit by a car outside her school is suing for compensation of more than £500,000.

Anita Konkel, 16, of Bounds Green was knocked over in April last year and now requires round-the-clock care. Her mother, Dorota Kasprus, 36, who has given up her job to care for her, is to sue driver Bharti Shah, who was not prosecuted over the accident. In the writ, issued by solicitors Simpson Millar, Mrs Shah is accused of being negligent and driving too fast as she approached the school in her Honda four-by-four.

It also claims that she did not look out properly and that she failed to prepare to brake. It is alleged that Mrs Shah, whose daughter was sitting in the front seat, told police that she took her foot off the accelerator just before the
collision.

The writ claims that if her observation had been better, her speed lower, or her ability to brake as it should have been, the collision could have been avoided, or at least less severe. Council bosses are now planning a 20mph zone close to Anita's school, Alexandra Park in Muswell Hill.

Ms Kasprus described her daughter before her injuries as "smart, full of life and a very happy person".Mother sues car driver who left 16-year-old girl brain damaged