Tan Parsons AN ELDERLY property tycoon, who suffered devastating brain damage after being hit by a car near her Hampstead home, has been awarded a record damages payout. Pamela Green, 74, was awarded almost £3million on Tuesday, nearly two years after the

Tan Parsons

AN ELDERLY property tycoon, who suffered devastating brain damage after being hit by a car near her Hampstead home, has been awarded a record damages payout.

Pamela Green, 74, was awarded almost £3million on Tuesday, nearly two years after the accident when she was knocked over on a Spaniard's Road zebra crossing.

Mrs Green was the multi-millionaire director of a string of companies linked to her property development business, Pamlion Properties Ltd, until the crash which happened at dusk on March 25, 2006.

She was left with a severe brain injury which caused memory problems and stopped her from working, as well as pelvic fractures which have left her immobile.

"I brought up six children and I used to be quite healthy and very active. But now I haven't been able to walk for some time," she exclusively told the Ham&High from her Hampstead home.

Mrs Green was walking her dog when she was hit by the Nissan van being driven by Aneil Thawer at about 30mph.

She received £2.75million without any admission of liability from the driver's insurers in an out of court settlement on Tuesday. It is believed to be the largest sum ever awarded to someone of such advanced years in a personal injury case.

Mr Thawer had denied liability for causing the accident, claiming he never saw anyone on the crossing as he approached, and that Mrs Green "ran onto it", giving him no opportunity to avoid the collision. However, Mrs Green denies this.

"It was the pedestrian crossing in the middle of Spaniard's Road - I don't normally cross there. I was talking to my poodle, Sharak, before we crossed the road - I said to him, 'come round this side of me'.

"He's a large poodle, and we would have been easy to see. Being a driver myself I'm not going to just step out in front of a car. Some people do, though."

Her son David Jeffrey Green, who has taken over the running of her business empire, led her claim against Mr Thawer. Mrs Green said the incident should be a warning to drivers to go carefully on the roads.

"This is Hampstead and people have lots of visitors and there are lots of children - people should drive more carefully," she said.

And her husband, Lionel, said the money would not bring an end to their ordeal. He said: "You can never draw a line under it because my wife can never regain her mental health. It's affected her memory and it's permanent. The main thing to say now is that it should be a warning for people to drive carefully."

Mr Justice Davis, who approved the settlement at London's High Court, said: "This is a very sad background. I'm satisfied that the interests of the claimant are served by the terms of this settlement.