On the day of his accident, our client was making his way to work on his motorbike along the A320 Woking Road in Guildford when the Defendant driver pulled out from a side road and collided with his left-hand side knocking him from his bike. Our client was conscious throughout and realised immediately that he had sustained a serious injury to his left foot. The emergency services attended the scene and due to the severity of his injuries, our client was taken to St. George’s Hospital in Tooting as a major trauma patient.
Despite the surgeon’s best efforts to repair his foot, the Claimant underwent a below-knee surgical amputation the day after his accident.
Our client remained at St. George’s Hospital for approximately one month before being transferred for amputee rehabilitation at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Roehampton. He remained there for a further three months before being discharged. As part of his in-patient rehabilitation, our client was fitted with an NHS prosthetic limb and began his long journey of recovery.
Liability for our client’s injuries was admitted by the Defendant Insurers at a very early stage in the case and therefore, we were able to make the most of rehabilitation and we maintained a very good working relationship with the Defendant Insurer. A case manager was instructed less than 10 days post-accident and she was able to complete her Initial Needs Assessment before the Claimant was discharged from St. George’s. This meant she was able to help with both the transfer to Queen Mary’s in Roehampton and also, his subsequent home once he had completed his period of inpatient rehabilitation. Once our client was discharged from NHS services, he was referred into the team at ProActive Prosthetics in Godalming in order to continue his prosthetics rehabilitation. There they fitted him with an additional bespoke prosthetic limb and also, a water activity limb.
To our client, the water activity limb was especially important as he was very keen to resume his off-road motorcycle hobby which we are pleased to say he was able to achieve in a very short space of time and the only adaptation to his motorbike was the installation of an automatic clutch.
Accommodation
One of the biggest hurdles in this case was the fact that our client’s pre-accident accommodation was no longer suitable. It was a small two-storey, two-bedroomed house which did not allow him enough space to comfortably use a wheelchair inside and also, the washing facilities were inadequate. As part of the collaboration with the Defendant Insurers, we were able to assist our client in locating and purchasing a single-level property through the release of a substantial interim payment. This property is currently in the process of being adapted in order to meet our client’s current and future needs.
Settlement
Due to how well our client had been progressing with his rehabilitation, the Defendant Insurers made an offer of settlement shortly before Christmas 2020. Whilst our client initially rejected the first offer, we later successfully negotiated an increased settlement offer with the Defendants for a seven figure settlement. The settlement was a great success for our client and was sufficient to allow our client to purchase everything he needed for the future.
Our client has adapted to life as a below-knee amputee incredibly well and the settlement will allow him to continue to do this in the comfort of his own suitably adapted home. His engagement with rehabilitation services is a testament to how much he simply wants get on with his life and make the most of a very traumatic situation. This is further illustrated by the fact that one of our client’s pre-accident hobbies was role-playing and steam punk and this included him portraying the character of Hagrid from the Harry Potter franchise. Before the accident, this meant that he would use stilts and this is something he was determined to do post-injury. We are pleased to confirm that with the help of his case manager and a pair of long bespoke stilts, our client was able to achieve this goal.
It is important to note that our client came to us through the Major Trauma Signposting Partnership at St. George’s Hospital and we were able to ensure that our ethos of early rehabilitation and collaboration was implemented and this can be demonstrated by the great outcome that our client has made.
Our client’s claim was conducted by Tim Kirfield, Associate.
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