Matthew Claxson, a partner, with the assistance of associate Niamh Hills, in the Serious Injury Team have obtained settlement for a client following a bicycle vs motorbike collision in Islington, London.
Our client was cycling home after picking up groceries when a motorcycle, travelling in the same direction as our client, collided with her bicycle. Our client suffered serious injury that required hospitalisation. Unfortunately, our client sustained a breadth of injuries from the collision including a traumatic brain injury, complex dental injuries, fractures to her neck, ankle and jaw. Later our client had surgery for maxillofacial and ankle injuries.
As part of our client’s claim she had a case manager instructed by us to support her rehabilitation journey.
Securing financial assistance for our client
Prior to the collision, our client worked in several active roles in the services industry. However, the collision left our client experiencing vestibular (balance) symptoms, restricted range of movement through her injured limbs and persisting dental pain, so she could not return to work quickly. Having secured an admission of liability from the defendant insurer, we obtained an interim payment on behalf of our client to support her financially during the claim.
Assessing ongoing needs
To ensure thorough investigation of our client’s injuries and to identify her ongoing needs, we instructed a range of specialised medical experts in a variety of disciplines, including neurology, neuropsychology and audio vestibular medicine. Our client lost multiple teeth from the collision and the NHS dentures she had been provided as a result were causing her ongoing pain and discomfort. Therefore, a dental surgeon expert was instructed, whom identified that our client required extensive restorative private dental work by way of implants. Our client’s dental requirements for life alone were assessed at a five-figure sum but crucially, the evidence obtained from the dental expert supported our client’s claim for future dental costs.
Settlement
Throughout our client’s claim a number of settlement offers were made between the parties. Barrister, Mr David White of 12 Kings Bench Walk was instructed on our client’s claim as part of the wider legal team to advise our client on the viability of the settlement offers. Considering our client’s past losses and the medical evidence supporting our client’s future medical treatment costs, we were able to provide our client with a bracket of reasonable settlement sums. After tenacious negotiation with the defendant representative, our client’s case successfully settled for a sum which was more than three times the defendant insurer’s first offer.
Personal Injury Trusts
We advised our client on Personal Injury Trusts. A Personal Injury Trust is beneficial to clients in receipt of compensation because the settlement sum can put clients over the threshold for means-tested benefits. Having a Personal Injury Trust allows the compensation obtained from an injury claim to be paid into the Trust which is then disregarded for the purpose of means tested benefits. Our client instructed Moore Barlow Trust team to create a Personal Injury Trust for our client to protect her current, and any future, means-tested benefits entitlement.
How Moore Barlow can help
Moore Barlow is here to help those who have suffered a serious personal injury to access rehabilitation, interim payments and secure compensation. If you need to speak with one of our expert personal injury solicitors, please call 0800 157 7611 or email matthew.claxson@moorebarlow.com
Moore Barlow is a legal panel member for RoadPeace who are the national charity for road crash victims who offer a pastoral care helpline on 0845 4500 355.
