Successful settlement for partial foot amputee

Matthew Claxson, Partner and Niamh Hills, Solicitor, Serious Injury team at Moore Barlow LLP were instructed on behalf of a client who suffered a partial foot amputation as a result of an accident at work in September 2016. The claim concluded in a successful settlement for our client for a six figure sum by way of joint settlement meeting conducted by way of video conferencing. 

The resulting partial foot amputation from the accident presented a plethora of issues for our client, both in terms of his needs for orthotics and prosthesis for his left foot, but also the impact on his future loss of earnings due to causation complications. Our client who was married with two young children also had the aesthetic challenges of the partial foot amputation.  Through our client’s personal injury claim our client’s child received play therapy which made a more harmonious home life for our client.

His loss of forefoot resulted in our client suffering not only a disfigured foot requiring support through specialised bespoke orthotics, but also additional pressure on our client’s right knee, which had been significantly injured in an unrelated sporting injury some considerable time before, which would have impacted on his manual working abilities in any event in later life. 

Through the personal injury claim, our client attended Dorset Orthopaedics’ Southern Clinic for an expert assessment of both this orthotic and prosthetic requirements. Recommendations were made for a combination of bespoke footwear, complimented by insole and toe filler and silicone prosthesis (partial foot) for recreational usage. The prosthesis recommendations took in to account that a prosthetic would allow our client to feel less anxious and self-conscious about the appearance of his injured foot, returning some of his quality of life. 

Dorset Orthopaedics’ recommendations ensured our client would remain supported and comfortable with his footwear for the rest of his life. Due to the nature of his work, he is required to wear protective steel capped boots, the comfort and sizing of which were an important consideration in this claim.

We were able to navigate through complex causation issues presented by way of the injuries with the support of expert medical evidence in the fields of Rehabilitation Medicine (Dr Sooriakumaran), Orthopaedics (Mr Hennessey for foot and Mr Clarke for knee) and care requirements (Allison Gillham of Jacqueline Webb). 

Our client was grateful to the team at Moore Barlow LLP, in addition to his barrister, Counsel Mr David White of 12 Kings Bench Walk. 

This is a really good outcome for our client, who will be able to continue to afford the cost of private orthotics as well as a silicone prosthetic for the remainder of his life and continue in meaningful employment.


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