Moore Barlow’s serious injury team recently recovered a six figure sum for a claimant who suffered severe injuries when he was a pedestrian hit by an out of control police vehicle that had collided with another car. He was hit with such force that he was thrown over a set of railings and ended up wedged between two walls.
The claimant sustained an open fracture of the tibia in his right leg, so that at the scene of the accident, the bone was protruding through the skin. He had a fracture of the fibula and a fracture to his right knee. On top of the physical injuries he also developed post traumatic stress disorder.
He was initially taken to a local hospital in Hampshire, however, due to the severity of his injuries, he was transferred to St George’s Hospital in London.
The injuries to the right leg were so severe that, for a considerable period of time, he was considered to be at a high risk of needing an amputation and, indeed three years later and despite having further surgeries, there is still some risk that this could happen.
The claimant was an animal lover who, at the time of the accident owned horses, numerous dogs, racing pigeons and a parrot. Because of his injuries, he had severe mobility problems for an extended period and naturally he was concerned about his ability to look after the animals. Friends and family helped him with walking the dogs until he had recovered sufficiently to do this himself.
The outcome of the case
We were able to persuade the defendants to pay for the claimant to undergo rehabilitation (treatment) under the ‘Rehabilitation Code 2015’. This is a code that encourages claimants and defendants to work together to arrange treatment for the claimant, in order to get the best medical outcome. The treatment included private orthopaedic surgery, physiotherapy and counselling.
Court proceedings were issued and medical reports for the legal case were obtained from orthopaedic and psychiatric experts.
Following a joint settlement meeting (a meeting where the parties meet outside the court process to see whether a settlement can be reached), a settlement was negotiated for the claimant.
How Moore Barlow can help
Matt Tuff is a senior associate in the Major trauma service department at Moore Barlow. As well as recovering compensation for our clients, Matt places particular emphasis on securing rehabilitation for them at an early stage. He have extensive experience of working closely with expert case managers and rehabilitation companies to secure this goal.
Please visit the major trauma website page or contact Matt Tuff.
