Circumstances of Accident and injuries
I was pleased to conclude a case for my client, aged 42, who was involved in a serious road traffic accident in August 2020 when she was hit by the Defendant driver whilst crossing a road at a zebra crossing when the pedestrian lights were green in her favour.
The impact with the vehicle caused significant injuries to my client including a severe traumatic brain injury with subarachnoid haemorrhage, right frontal, temporal and left parietal lobe diffuse axonal injury. My client also suffered a facial fractures, and a fracture to her right arm as well as psychological injuries. Liability was admitted in full.
Rehabilitation & Progress
My client remained an inpatient at St Georges Hospital for 6 weeks and was then discharged to her home address. My client’s family situation was a complex one, in which her husband was only allowed to work limited hours due to a visa restriction. My client, effectively being the higher earner, usually working 50-60 hours per week, found herself unable to work post her accident which added extra pressure on the family. Sadly, there was little help from statutory services following my client’s discharge home.
Fortunately, early in the claim, I secured funding for rehabilitation from the insurers, with regular interim payment for continued rehabilitation and to cover my client’s loss of earnings. Initially the Claimant benefited from a range of treatment and therapies including neuro-physiotherapy and neuropsychology.
My client worked in a busy restaurant environment where she was in charge of managing and preparing takeaway orders. Her role also involved cashing up, arranging deliveries, carrying out safety checks, training staff, updating the safe rota and ensuring the appropriate records were kept in relation to food hygiene. Pre accident, my client was training and was going to be promoted to a manager of the restaurant within 6-12 months. Although my client’s cognitive symptoms were ongoing, in that she suffered from memory loss, difficulties with concentration, difficulties multi-tasking and behavioural changes with increased irritability and low mood she had a strong desire to return back to work. My client’s employers were supportive and with the assistance of her case manager she was able to return back to work in September 2022 on a phased return initially only working 25 hours per week and gradually building herself up again. It became evident my client found it very difficult to maintain her responsibilities at work, although she was no longer managing and had less responsibility. She felt exhausted when she returned home from work and was unable to carry out any of the domestic chores and relied on her husband to complete these.
The Defendant representatives made some early low offers in the claim prior to medical evidence being sought; first £150,000 and then £250,000.
Medical evidence was obtained from a range of experts including a neurologist, orthopaedic shoulder surgeon, maxillofacial surgeon, neuropsychiatrist, neuropsychologist and Care/Occupational Therapist.
Sadly, my client was made redundant from her workplace in June 2024. Given her ongoing cognitive difficulties she found it challenging to find a supportive employer in a retail and catering environment. She eventually did find a role as a catering assistant, but upon taking detailed witness statements from my client’s employers, it was evident my client was finding it difficult to continue with her role. At this point further funding was obtained from the Defendant insurers to allow my client to re-engage with neuropsychology, occupational therapy and vocational support and reduce her work hours.
Settlement and commentary
Of particular interest in this case was a dispute concerning my client’s capacity to be able to work. The Defendant representatives maintained my client was able to hold down a job and working and so their argument was she would be able to continue working in the future. The witness evidence from my new client’s employers assisted in supporting her submissions that it was unlikely my client would ever be able to return to working on a full-time basis.
Following negotiations, a settlement was achieved in the sum of £800,000 gross of interim payments already received through the claim.
Court approval of the settlement was necessary given the medical experts views were that my client’s capacity was fluctuating. It is imperative when dealing with complex matters such as this a Claimant is represented by an experienced and competent legal team. By obtaining approval of the settlement from the Court, I was able to ensure an added layer of protection for my client, in ensuring the settlement achieved was in the best interests of my client.
In this case, it was important to carefully consider the effects of my client’s brain injury and cognitive deficits in order to evidence what limitations they would have on her capacity to work and requirement for support in the future. This ensured any settlement award would adequately provide for her ongoing needs.
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