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A UK court has ruled that Dr Shanthi Chandran, an Indian-origin doctor, must pay approximately Rs 1.41 crore in damages to a schoolgirl whom she hit with her luxury car in 2018, resulting in severe head injuries and health complications.

In January 2018, Dr Shanthi Chandran was driving her BMW i3 Range Extender on Buckingham Road in Bicester, Oxfordshire, en route to work in Buckinghamshire, when the collision occurred with the then-12-year-old victim, who is now an 18-year-old girl, reported the Oxford Mail.

The young girl brought the case to court, accusing Dr Shanthi Chandran, a consultant physician, of negligence that led to severe injuries to her head and neck.

The accident happened as Dr Chandran was returning to her hospital, and the victim, on her way to school, had her head trapped near the car’s windscreen, causing the glass to shatter. The girl suffered a serious brain injury and a fractured left collarbone.

Following the accident, the girl was intubated and ventilated for three days, spending a total of 10 days in the hospital.

Court documents revealed that the girl was “left with cognitive and psychiatric problems” and experienced nightmares and “PTSD-type symptoms for the first year after the accident.”

Dr Chandran initially claimed that the accident occurred because the girl was on the road when the lights were green, but the court found her responsible for the collision, apportioning liability 60/40 in favour of the claimants.

Although the court reduced the claimed damages amount of 2,25,000 by 40% due to the claimant’s contributory negligence in stepping out into the road while the traffic lights were green, the final award stands at approximately Rs 1.41 crore.