NHS worker, 29, suffered such horror facial injuries in motorbike crash she no longer recognises herself
- Beth Skerratt had reconstructive surgery which permanently changed the shape of her nose and jawline
- The 29-year-old suffered a severe head injury and smashed her jaw, cheekbones, nose and eye sockets
AN NHS worker who broke almost every bone in her body in a horror motorbike smash suffered such horrific facial injuries she no longer RECOGNISED herself.
Beth Skerratt was knocked off her bike by a car in 2012 and suffered a severe head injury, a smashed jaw, cheekbones, nose and eye sockets.
The 29-year-old, from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs, was forced to have reconstructive surgery which permanently changed the shape of her nose and jawline.
It also made her whole face shorter and no longer symmetrical and left her with scarring on her neck.
Beth, who was 25 at the time of the accident, said: "Although I don't remember much from the crash, the physical and mental impact has really taken its toll."
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Beth, who has now received a £170,000 payout, added: "My face shape completely changed, I don't look like I used to.
"That took a lot of getting used to – to look in the mirror and see someone else – and is something I struggled with.
"It is your face, you grow up looking at it every day, so to have it changed through no fault of my own – that was hard.
"The crash put my life on hold.
"I was at the stage where I was ready to move in with my boyfriend, everything was going great.
"Then I had to spend months living on my parents' couch because I couldn't get up the stairs, and my relationship broke down due to the crash – my life completely changed.
"My personality changed so much. I am not the same person I was before."
Beth was thrown from the bike while travelling to Chester along the A51 in Tarvin, Cheshire, in October 2012 after a female Citroen Picasso driver failed to spot her and pulled out of a junction into her path.
The impact fractured nearly every bone in Beth's body and she broke both wrists and her right leg in two places and suffered numerous fractures to her jaw, cheekbones, nose and eye sockets.
Beth, who was airlifted to Aintree Hospital in Liverpool where she was in intensive care for a week, also suffered a head injury which has left her still unable to remember the accident.
She spent seven more days at Aintree Hospital before spending a further fortnight at Stoke City Hospital for surgery to insert metal plates into her jaw and right leg to realign the fractured bones.
Beth was forced to take 12 months off work and spent three months bedbound before re-learning how to walk by at first using a frame.
She also underwent months of rehabilitation and physiotherapy but still suffers constant pain in her right leg, concentration and memory problems and a reduced sense of smell and taste.
The 29-year-old was recently awarded £170,000 in compensation from the other driver's insurance company after bringing a claim against the woman, who admitted full liability.
Beth said: "I was planning on being a lifelong motorcyclist – ever since I was 15 that was what I had been aiming for.
"I have not been back on a bike since.
"I have trouble remembering any of the crash and I still have memory problems now – I struggle to focus or concentrate on the things I'm doing which can be very frustrating and tiring.
"I can have a conversation with someone and not remember in 30 minutes later.
"The constant pain I feel in my right leg makes it really difficult to move around or do physical activities."
Louise Riley, a serious injury solicitor at Fletchers Solicitors, who handled Beth's case, said: "This has been an incredibly difficult time for Beth, made even more tough by the fact she doesn't remember much of what happened.
"This case really emphasises the need for drivers to be extra careful when pulling out of junctions to make sure there isn't a biker in their path, so accidents like this can be avoided."
A spokesman for Cheshire Police confirmed the Citroen driver completed a driver awareness course and there was no further investigation.
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