A woman shattered her jaw in two places after jumping out of a moving taxi in a row over the fare.
Shannon Wiwczaryk, 20, was left with 15 stitches on the outside of her chin and 20 more insider her mouth.
The incident took place in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, last Sunday after she went clubbing with her cousin Arlom Spillane and a friend.
They got in a black cab but were soon caught up in a heated argument with the driver over the fare.
Shannon said the driver got out of the vehicle and pulled open the sliding door before confronting Arlom.
She told Stoke on Trent Live : "We handed over £10 but it doesn't usually cost that much so we checked we'd be getting change.
"Partway through the journey my friend noticed the meter wasn't running and that's when the driver started shouting.
"We asked to get out. There was a lot of back and forth with us demanding he stop.
"He eventually pulled over but then he opened the side door and got in Arlom's face."
Shannon, a waitress, said Arlom managed to get out of the taxi during the commotion and the driver got back in the front and started driving off.
"I saw the panic in his face and just jumped out. It was complete instinct. My feet went underneath and my face smashed into the ground," she recalled.
"The driver then slammed the brakes on and my friend was able to get out.
"I picked up my phone and immediately knew something was wrong with my face. I was having to hold my chin."
Police and paramedics arrived and rushed her to a hospital where she had an operation to insert titanium plates and pins in her mouth.
She was put on a liquid-only diet for four to six weeks while waiting the wound to be healed.
Craig Spillane, Arlom's father, shared the details of the incident to the police as he said: "It all started when they asked for meter to be put on because they didn't want to be overcharged.
"The driver knew Shannon wanted to get out of the taxi but he just drove off. She's in a bad way with severe bruising but it could have been a lot worse.
"I'm just very disappointed. Taxi drivers have to be licensed but these things are still happening.
"Since posting on Facebook lots of people have been in touch to say they have had problems with drivers not putting their meters on. The system needs looking at."
A Staffordshire Police spokesman said: "Police have received reports of an incident where a woman suffered facial and leg injuries as she got out of a taxi.
"It took place at approximately 4.30am on Sunday morning (February 23) in the Brunswick Street area of Newcastle-under-Lyme."
Anyone with information is asked to call 101 quoting incident number 125 of February 25.
