Gold Coast crash: Soccer player’s unsuccessful $600,000 injury compensation claim

A promising young soccer player who suffered serious injuries when a car crashed into her on a sidewalk had the bulk of her compensation claim dismissed after video surfaced of her twerking nearly three years later.

Meah Crystal Baldock-Davis, 23, told Daily Mail Australia that her attempts to move on with her life were used against her during her injury claim after she was struck from behind while walking down Sunshine Blvd on the Gold Coast towards his job at Pacific Fair Shopping. Center on July 4, 2019.

The driver, Adrian Popham, spun off a side street and collided with a red hatchback, sending it to the sidewalk where Mrs Baldock-Davis was thrown over the hood, onto the windshield and to the ground before a brick fence was struck by the car fell on his.

“I heard a loud bang and then the car hit me from behind and sent me flying over the hood. I remember my shoe flying, then on the ground a A brick pillar fell on me and pinned me under it,” Ms Baldock-Davis told Daily Mail Australia.

I coughed up some blood and could barely breathe until someone took the bricks off me. There was a lovely off-duty nurse who helped me through the pain and covered me with a towel as she had me wet from the force of the impact.’

The 23-year-old was thrown over the hood and to the ground in the crash where she lay for 30 minutes with a collapsed lung and broken bones before an ambulance arrived (pictured)

He was awarded a small fraction of the amount his lawyers had been asking for after the accident.

She lay on the ground for more than 30 minutes before paramedics arrived and then spent four days in the hospital with three fractured ribs, spinal injuries, multiple pelvic contusions, a collapsed lung and a broken toe.

Mr Popham and his insurer AAI Limited admitted liability but argued that Ms Baldock-Davis’s injuries had minimal lasting effects in the Queensland High Court, where she was suing for $600,000.

She was a talented soccer player who competed in Division 1 on the Gold Coast before the accident, but had to stop due to her injuries.

He played again in 2022 with a Burleigh Heads club, but said he was in Division 2 and his back would become paralyzed and he would need days to recover after each game.

Lawyers for Popham and AAI submitted records to the court showing that he played at least a part of 18 of the 20 games for the club that season.

Records showed that the club played in Division 1 and not the lower division as claimed by Ms Baldock-Davis.

They found footage of Ms. Baldock-Davis heading a ball during a game and twerking while holding on to a walker during a team trip late in the season.

An orthopedic surgeon called by AAI lawyers testified that it was “inconceivable that a person with minor neck problems could head a football as he was seen to do.”

The court also heard that Ms Baldock-Davis’s brother posted video of the two wrestling on a jumping castle and sliding down a slide to land heavily on her back two months after the accident.

But Ms Baldock-Davis said her pain would vary from day to day.

“After struggling with pain for over two years, my mental health was taking a toll and I decided to try and go back and play the sport I’ve loved since I was a child.”

“Although I was in pain after playing, my mental state improved dramatically and I found myself using soccer as an outlet.”

“The insurance company used a 30-second video of me dancing and joking and compared that to not having any pain.”

“I strongly believe that even though people have traumatic injuries, they can still push themselves to do the things they love.”

“I’m young and full of life, I don’t want to be limited by something that wasn’t my fault, so I tried to move on and make memories with friends and family.”

An x-ray showing one of Ms Baldock-Davis’s spinal injuries sustained in the accident

The tough college student said she was disappointed with the court’s decision but was trying to stay positive (pictured at the hospital after the accident)

She had been walking on the sidewalk on this part of Sunshine Blvd when a collision near the intersection sent a car flying towards her.

After being discharged from the hospital, she was also required to wear a neck brace, but lawyers for the insurance company argued that she had not worn it as much as she claimed.

He told an orthopedic surgeon hired by his lawyers that he wore the collar for three months, but a medical reference was found that said he only wore it for two and a half weeks.

“When they asked me about the neck brace, I replied that they recommended that I wear it for three months, but I didn’t wear it that long, my pain could change from day to day due to things like whether I was working or not.”

Lawyers also questioned her hours worked at Big W after she was released from the hospital, saying pay records show they had increased on average to 34.20 hours a week.

In the six months before the accident, records show that he worked 10 hours a week less, although he said he had further reduced his hours.

“I actually had to quit two jobs, one as a retail worker where I had to constantly bend over, pack merchandise and stand all day and the other as a receptionist where I was sitting for eight hours a day five days a week. ‘

‘Due to the extent of my injuries and the pressure on my spine from sitting and standing for long periods, I struggled. At the end of the day or week I would be in a lot of pain.’

Ms. Baldock-Davis was struggling so much that she went back to a medical professional who found more spinal fractures that didn’t show up on initial hospital X-rays.

‘One fracture was a transverse fracture that fused in the wrong place. I didn’t even know about this when I was interviewed by the insurance company’s doctors and lawyers.’

On February 23, Ms. Baldock-Davis was awarded $21,510 in general damages, $5,943 in economic losses, $6,067 in special damages, and $5,000 in future special damages, less than one-tenth of what her lawyers were seeking.

“Unfortunately, due to the outcome, I won’t see a penny and possibly owe the insurance company for legal fees, that’s really hard to understand considering what I’ve been through.”

“It’s heartbreaking to know that because I tried to move on with my life that was used against me.”

‘I’m trying to be strong and have faith, but it’s extremely difficult with so much uncertainty regarding my physical health. I still suffer from lower back pain that can be crippling.

“I don’t think I’m entitled to any amount, but I think after the trauma and injuries I received, I do deserve some help and stability as this will affect my ability to earn a steady income over the years.”