£575,000 awarded following a serious road traffic accident

In a difficult case I secured £575,000 for my client injured in a serious road traffic accident almost 3 years ago. My client, age 24 at the time of injury, suffered severe life-threatening poly-traumatic injuries when she was hit by a car while waiting to cross the road. My client ended up underneath the vehicle and sadly suffered significant injuries including –

• A closed head injury with underlying traumatic brain injury resulting in memory and concentration impairments, irritability and reduced ability to multi-task. An occipital laceration required 42 staples leaving significant scarring.
• Spinal fractures at C7 and T3, and lateral process fractures at T12 and L1-L5, repaired surgically with associated scarring.
• Sacrum and left iliac fractures of the pelvis repaired surgically with associated scarring.
• Right scapula and multiple rib fractures.
• Grade 3 liver and grade 4 spleen lacerations.
• Post-traumatic stress disorder.

My client was fit and active at the time of her injury. She enjoyed swimming (including water sports while on holiday), running, trampolining and engaging in typical leisure activities with her friends. The expert medical evidence confirmed she had done remarkably well given the severity of her injuries, showing particular resilience through her rehabilitation, but she did not make a full recovery and was left with ongoing pain in her neck, back and lower limbs. Consequently, she is less able to carry heavy objects and she struggled with walking longer distances due to pain and fatigue, requiring her to use a stick on occasion.

Once the medical evidence was finalised, I was able to produce a schedule of loss setting out the various losses suffered by my client. She recovered her earnings for the time she was unable to work; an amount for care and assistance provided by her family; and she was reimbursed her travel and medication costs. In addition, she recovered damages to cover the cost of a range treatment and therapies which she had received over the years, including surgery to remove the pins from her pelvis which was done privately relieving a lot of her pain. My client’s rehabilitation regime was co-ordinated and overseen by a specialist case manager, the fees of whom were also recovered in the claim.

It was evident that my client was likely to find it more difficult to obtain future work because of her injuries. She was compensated for this disadvantage, receiving damages to offset the difference in her earnings on account of her injuries. Compensation was also recovered to allow my client to benefit from treatment and therapies on an ongoing basis and to afford her assistance at home generally and if she decided to have children. She received a sum for adaptions necessary to her home on account of her injuries and for travel upgrades when flying long haul. Lastly, I recovered damages for my client to purchase a more suitable vehicle and for various other aids and equipment to help manage her difficulties longer term.

This was a difficult case in many ways, not least because the insurers sought to compromise the action with a substantial early offer, before the work could be done to properly quantify the case. My client declined the offer and in the end it was a good result. My client was fully compensated and received much more in damages than would have been the case had the early offer been agreed.