The benefits of rehabilitation in severe brain injury were shown to help our client who secured a seven figure settlement after a serious road crash.
The case background
Matthew Claxson, a partner, and Michelle Halsall, a senior lawyer in our serious injury team acted for our client who was aged 18 when the vehicle he was an unrestrained rear seat passenger in left the road and collided with a tree. The crash caused our client to be ejected through the rear window and suffer a serious orthopaedic lower limb injury and a moderate to severe brain injury.
The driver of the vehicle was found to have no driving licence, was not the owner of the vehicle, albeit there was a policy of insurance on the vehicle, and had consumed alcohol. The front seat passenger, who had been the owner and insured person of the vehicle, died in the collision.
Our client during his admission to hospital lost his place at a bed sit where he had before the crash been sleeping. He was not in touch with his immediate family with whom he had become estranged. He was also unemployed and without any personal possessions.
What Moore Barlow did
The High Court approved a settlement of our client’s personal injury claim for a seven figure sum that would be managed by a deputy appointed by the Court of Protection on account of our client as a result of the brain injury lacking mental capacity for property and finance. Our client by the time of settlement, as a result of the personal injury claim, was living in privately rented accommodation, had reunited with his mother and sisters and was supported by a case manager who organised therapies as well as unpaid work.
How we achieved the outcome
Upon instruction by our client’s litigation friend we obtained from the police details of the vehicle involved in the incident and identified the Road Traffic Act motor insurer. We reached out to the Insurer, who had instructed solicitors to act for them, and we engaged proactively with them.
The insurer, represented by solicitors, agreed to act under the Rehabilitation Code 2015 enabling the parties to jointly instruct a brain injury case manager to assemble a multidisciplinary treatment team which consisted of a neuropsychologist, occupational therapist, neuro-physiotherapist, speech and language therapist, rehabilitation assistant and support worker. The costs incurred under the code were met in full by the insurer notwithstanding there were outstanding liability issues.
The case manager attended a pathway meeting with ourselves as well as the insurer’s solicitor where it was agreed that permanent housing was required for our client who did not have the resource to pay for the same, therefore the insurer paid in full for the rental property that was identified and which our client wanted. Having secured a base for our client, he then attended a private hospital local to him for privately funded orthopaedic treatment. Having recovered from his lower limb injury our client’s rehabilitation assistant, in conjunction with the occupational therapist, worked to provide scaffolding around the brain injury for our client to rebuild his life.
The insurance company also made available voluntary interim payments – which are payments set off against the final settlement of the claim.
In due course, once the rehabilitation was advanced with our client clearly benefitting from the same, we arranged for our client to attend medico legal appointments for the purpose of the compensation claim so that we could value his case. Our client’s expert evidence included for a number of expert reports including neuro-radiology, neurology, neuropsychiatry, neuropsychology, orthopaedics, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, nursing care, physiotherapy, employment and accommodation.
Whilst we had been progressing the rehabilitation as well as the medico legal expert evidence, we had also attended the criminal proceedings against the driver to understand more about the collision and the liability risks to our client. As referenced above our client had not worn a seatbelt, the driver had consumed alcohol and the driver unbeknown to our client did not hold a driving licence neither was he a named person on the policy of motor insurance on the vehicle.
In due course the solicitor for the insurer invited us to a joint settlement meeting which we attended with our client, his litigation friend and our client’s barrister Simon Brindle of Deka Chambers. The meeting proved to be constructive and progressive where a favourable settlement was achieved for our client who now has sufficient funds to move forward with his life, supported by Rebecca Sparrow of Moore Barlow LLP as the deputy appointed by the Court of Protection.
I can’t thank enough Matthew, Michelle and all of the team at Moore Barlow who have done so much for me. If I didn’t have them I don’t know what I would have done. I will forever be grateful to them and highly recommend Moore Barlow.
Moore Barlow client
What Moore Barlow can do for you
This was a technically challenging case with issues concerning when a policy of motor insurance will react where the policyholder is not the driver of the vehicle, the actual driver did not have a driving licence, the driver had consumed alcohol and our client was not wearing a seatbelt. In addition, our client at the time of our instruction was homeless, had lost contact with his family and was unemployed. Notwithstanding this, we were able to access rehabilitation at the insurer’s cost for our client to rebuild his life.
Our team of specialists have vast experience of acting for clients in technically challenging cases to access the tools required to secure for our clients not just an excellent financial compensation settlement but to also ensure our clients are themselves in a supportive situation to move forward with their lives.
Our team is ranked as Tier 1 by Legal 500 and Band 1 by Chambers & Partners. We are a long standing member of the legal panel for RoadPeace who are the national charity for those bereaved or seriously injured on our roads. We are recognised in the legal directory of Headway who are the national charity for those with brain injury and we are a legal panel member for the Child Brain Injury Trust.
If you have suffered a serious injury, or bereavement, as a result of a road traffic collision then contact Matthew Claxson on 0203 962 5841 or matthew.claxson@moorebarlow.com
