Tim Kirfield and his team at Moore Barlow are pleased to have reached a six figure settlement for a pedestrian hit by a motorbike whilst crossing the road.
Background of the case
Our client and his friends had been for a pre-Christmas catch up and they were all making their way home. They had said their goodbyes with two of the friends walking alongside one side of the road and the other two friends, including our client, needing to cross the road. Our client and his friend (whom Moore Barlow also represented) waited for the road to clear and then crossed. As they were halfway across, a motorbike came out of nowhere and ploughed into the friends, causing them to sustain significant injuries.
The criminal investigation remains ongoing at present so settlement was agreed on a “Without Prejudice” basis but it is understood that after colliding with our clients, the Defendant got back on his bike attempting to leave the scene of the crime, before crashing into another vehicle further up the road.
Rehabilitation and settlement
Rather than getting bogged down with liability, the team at Moore Barlow were immediately focused upon rehabilitation. It had taken some time for the Defendant’s Insurer and Solicitor to engage so as a short terms solution, our client funded some of his own rehabilitation through Remedy. Eventually, the Defendant insurer agreed to the appointment of a case manager (Jo Hipkiss at Proclaim) and our client’s expenditure was reimbursed, all in accordance with the Rehabilitation Code.
Our client’s injuries were extensive and included broken left tibia and fibula requiring internal fixation, broken right knee requiring complex reconstruction surgery, broken right should and fractured pelvis. Our client was in hospital for 6 weeks before being discharged home. As mentioned above, our client was receiving rehabilitation funded through the Rehabilitation Code and this included physiotherapy, occupational therapy and hydrotherapy.
Our client made an impressive recovery and he was able to return to work within 8 months of the collision and that is absolute testament to the team he was working with and our client’s attitude towards rehabilitation.
Our client wanted to conclude his litigation and move on with his life and therefore, we were instructed to disclose the medico-legal evidence we had obtained and invite an offer of settlement. The Defendant’s Solicitors were collaborative throughout and they made a significant offer of settlement. After a small amount of negotiation, settlement was reached and the claim concluded.
Although there were a number of potential issues raised by the Defendant in terms of suggesting our client had crossed the road whilst intoxicated and that the Defendant had been filtering through traffic when our client stepped out into his path, settlement was agreed without any deductions relating to contributory negligence.
I was very pleased to reach a swift successful conclusion in relation to this case my client had made such a good recovery and his commitment to rehabilitation was fantastic. The approach of both parties was very pragmatic and this meant that I was able to focus on the client rather than getting embroiled in liability arguments and ultimately this was reflected in settlement being reached without the need to issue Court proceedings.
Tim Kirfield – Senior Associate | Major Trauma
