Maria Iglesias-Garcia was in her final year of university and aspired to be a teacher when, unfortunately, a car hit her boyfriend’s bike – which she was travelling on as a passenger.

Maria said: “It drove straight out of a side road into me. There was no time to react. The impact threw me over the other side of the road. I was in so much pain.”

Maria was rushed to St Mary’s Hospital on the Isle of Wight where medics operated on her ankle and told her that the bone had ‘shattered into tiny pieces’.

She had two operations on her ankle with pins and plates inserted before having a third procedure a year later to remove some of the metal.

Doctors warned her that she will have arthritis in her foot for life and may even have to have further surgeries when she’s older.

Due to the severity of her injury, she struggled to complete her final year and was forced to delay her PGCE teaching course by a year.

But in 2022 she finally landed her dream role as Foreign Languages Teaching Lead at private Cumnor House School in Sussex.

To teach at the school she commutes two hours each way from her home on the Isle of Wight – spending her weekdays at the school before returning home on the weekends.

But she still struggles standing for long periods of time and has been left with lower back pain.

Maria had attempted to learn to drive, but following the accident, she has no confidence on the road.

She added: “I tried to learn to drive but I had to stop as I was too scared. I am always on edge now and have good days and bad and can’t stand for longer periods. But I just have to learn to adapt and live with it and my school and mentor have been great accommodating me.”

Maria still faces future surgery and having a brace on her ankle with either an ankle fusion or ankle replacement surgery at some point within the next 10 years.

Looking for support regarding her financial losses, she got advice from our personal injury experts.

Maria received a ‘substantial six-figure settlement’ with the help of Collette McCann, Senior Associate Solicitor, RTA, who said: “Sadly Maria has learnt the hard way how dangerous motorbikes can be. This settlement will go some way to securing her future and shows just how quickly your life can change.”

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