The widow of a successful businessman who died after being knocked down by an ambulance in a road accident has been award £1.7m in compensation.

The man had established a successful family business in which his wife and two of his children were partners. The court hearing where damages were assessed was told that the company had grown largely as a result of his efforts. The judge accepted this and described him as a wealth creator.

The court therefore awarded the £1.7m as way of covering the cost of replacing his services.

The Welsh Ambulance Services Trust, which employed the driver involved in the accident, appealed against the award. It argued that neither the wife nor the man’s family were dependent on his efforts and in fact were as well off after his death as they were before because the business continued to provide them with the same level of income.

The Court of Appeal upheld the award, however, because the wife had played no significant role in the wealth creation and so had been dependent on her husband. The fact that she and her children were as well off now as they were before was ruled to be irrelevant to the case.