Daryl Robinson, a Senior Associate in the Major Trauma Team has obtained a six-figure settlement for a client following a motorcycle accident.
Our client who was under the age of 18 was a pillion passenger on the back of a motorcycle when the driver lost control and collided head-on with a vehicle coming in the opposite direction.
He was air lifted from Kent to Kings College Hospital in London. Whilst the driver managed to avoid any serious injury, our client sustained a mild brain injury in the form of a frontal subdural haemorrhage and a T7 spinal burst fracture in which the spinal cord was not severed but had been crushed. Investigations were undertaken to rule out any form of long-term paraplegia. He underwent surgery for an internal fixation with pedicle screw and correction of kyphosis at T6 to T8 before he was transferred to the Stoke Mandeville National Spinal Injuries Centre.
The driver was both intoxicated and uninsured therefore a claim was processed thorough the Motor Insurers Bureau [Uninsured Drivers Scheme] designed to compensate victims of negligent driving. Regrettably our client was not wearing a helmet at the time therefore suitable allowances were made during our settlement negotiations. To avoid a Scheme clause which can rule out compensation altogether, evidence was presented that our client was unaware of the driver’s alcohol intake.
As part of his care package a clinical case manager was employed to oversee the continuation of medical care following discharge from Stoke Mandeville in the form of an immediate needs assessment. There was a focused programme of rehabilitation to address minor cognitive symptoms and restricted mobility to wean him off the use of a crutch with the use of physiotherapy and the provision of Orthotic footwear.
Securing financial assistance for our client
Prior to the collision our client had been taking driving lessons in order to gain employment as a delivery driver. Whilst unemployed at the time, there was sufficient evidence to support the fact that he would have secured paid employment within the period that he was still recovering from his injuries. The case manager was also able to assist him with both research and guidance on job seeking once he made gains in his rehabilitation goals. Guidance was also provide in respect of his entitlement to DWP benefits in the form of Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payments for living and mobility.
Setting up a Personal Injury Trust
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 the Moore Barlow Trust team to create a Personal Injury Trust for our client to protect his current, and any future, means-tested benefits entitlement.
How Moore Barlow can help
Moore Barlow is here to help those who have suffered major trauma and need to make a claim, access rehabilitation, interim payments and secure compensation. If you need to speak with one of our expert personal injury solicitors, please call 020 3962 7333 or email daryl.robinson@moorebarlow.com
