Personal injury news
13/11/2007

Man waits for compensation after leopard attack

An African man who suffered serious personal injuries after being attacked by a leopard ten years ago has revealed how is still waiting for compensation.

The father of ten was set upon as he left his home in the Kenyan town of Kisumu in December 1994 and was left with severe head injuries and deep lacerations all over his body.

Reliving his terrifying experience, the man told a journalist: "The leopard's intention was to break my neck or blind me but, thank God, I survived the ordeal.

"I held the animal's paws and wrestled with it for a while before it let go of me and I fell to the ground as it attacked a woman who was passing by."

The woman referred to was just one of five other local people who were hurt by the rampaging leopard, and it is believed they all made subsequent personal injury compensation claims against the country's wildlife authorities.

But, despite being promised damages of over £100, the father of ten has yet to receive a single penny and has been left considerably out of pocket because of hospital bills for surgery performed after the animal attack.

He spoke of how he'd rather not recruit a personal injury solicitor, saying: "I have been reluctant to look for a lawyer because it would mean splitting the compensation to pay the legal fee, but that is better than losing it all together."

Despite his predicament, the man managed to joke about how one of his two wives is not impressed with the big cat's attack, saying: "She frequently tells me that the leopard destroyed my good looks."