Our clients Leah Washington-Pugh and Joe Pugh were injured in the Smiler rollercoaster crash at the Alton Towers theme park in 2015.

As they approach the 10-year anniversary of the incident, they look back at that day, their recovery and the challenges they overcame, and reflect on how far they have come together.

The crash

On 2 June 2015 Leah and Joe were on a date together at Alton Towers. They went straight to the Smiler rollercoaster and queued up to ride it. Despite technical difficulties causing delay, they were eventually able to board. While they were on the ride, an empty carriage came to a stop on the track in front of them, and their carriage crashed into it at speed.

Joe sustained injuries including two shattered kneecaps and damage to his hands. Leah’s legs were crushed. She had cruciate ligament damage to the right knee and went on to have her left leg amputated above the knee. She also had other injuries including a fractured hand.

It took a number of hours for them to be rescued from the ride in a complex operation which involved the Air Ambulance flying in blood for Leah. She credits the Air Ambulance with saving her life that day.

Joe and Leah speak more about the crash and their recovery journey in this short film.

Leaving hospital and recovery

Leah spent five days in intensive care and was in hospital for eight weeks in total. She describes being in a structured routine of physio and appointments during this time, which felt like a bubble perfectly designed to help with recovery. It was only when she went home that she had to adapt to her new life.

Leah says: “I’d been in the bubble of the hospital, then coming home, with my body being completely different to the last time I was there. It meant lots of navigating life in a normal surrounding, not a hospital surrounding. It was quite difficult at the start.”

Joe adds: “We had to learn not only how to walk again, but how to build a relationship with each other again.”

Leah and Joe both agree that having each other and being with another person who understood what they were going through, was really important. Leah says: “Looking back now, me and Joe sticking together, we were such a good support for each other. Yes, our injuries were there and everything else around us was going off, but we still had that relationship and friendship and that got us through everything.”

Support from Stewarts

Joe and Leah instructed Stewarts early on to assist with their injury claim. Leah credits the support she received from Stewarts as another big help in the early days following her injury. She says: “Not only did I have my friends and family as support and help, I also had Stewarts who I had a very good relationship with.”

Partner Anna Wiseman acted for Leah and Joe in their case. She says: “Leah was young when I first met her, she was only 17. For her to go through that process and be injured in the way that she was, was quite terrifying for her.”

She explains that it’s important to include the family as part of the discussions when dealing with a case: “When you first meet [the injured clients], the family will always be there. It’s lovely actually because you get to know them so well.”

Leah describes the assistance Stewarts gave: “It just made things a lot smoother and a lot easier for me and my family. They were always there to answer my calls, my emails, my queries, chase things up and do all the things that my brain, at 17 and with everything else going off, just couldn’t cope with. They were there the whole time.”

Joe explains how he felt lucky to have Anna and Stewarts helping with the claim: “They were there for support with family, even friends. If friends needed to talk to anybody, they were there for that.”

Anna highlights how she tries to help clients as a lawyer: “We take off as much of the stress [as we can], to allow them to concentrate upon their rehabilitation and their therapies, which is so important and crucial to them at this stage.”

Ten years on – charity ball

Ten years on from the crash, Joe and Leah are moving forward with their lives. Joe says: “We’re both really happy, we’re now married. We’re almost a year into our marriage and we have a beautiful home together. We couldn’t be happier.”

Joe and Leah are using this anniversary to host a ball to support charities close to them, fundraising to help them help others in a similar position. Stewarts has sponsored the ball, allowing the money raised to go directly to the charities that helped them. The ball has been organised in support of the Midlands Air Ambulance, Yorkshire Air Ambulance and Limbo charities.

Reflecting back

Leah reflects that although her and Joe’s lives changed that day, it’s been something that’s strengthened their bond and given them experiences they wouldn’t have had otherwise. She concludes: “You’ve always got to find the positive in the negative and just got to grab life, because it’s so precious, and make the most of it”.

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