Helping you get the support you need

Explore how we can help you and your family with any legal requirements after a major trauma.

Contact our team

Support focussed on your needs

  • If you have suffered from major trauma, you may suddenly require legal support in a number of different areas.
  • We carry out an initial assessment to identify your legal needs at the outset to ensure that you have the relevant specialist advice and support at the earliest opportunity.
  • It can be often be confusing and difficult to understand what your options are. That’s where we can help.

Our specialist major trauma team lawyers have multi-disciplinary expertise, and they will advise and guide you through the legal, health and social care pathways. Many of these services may be new to you, so we will explain what will happen, step by step.

Do you need our help?

Call our major trauma helpline on 0333 241 9995

Trevor Sterling

Trevor Sterling

Senior partner | Major trauma

020 8334 0317

Care planning

When you or a family member are being discharged from hospital following a major trauma, it’s important to have the right support, to make it easier to move back home or to a care facility.

You may want advice about what is available and what you’re entitled to, or perhaps you’re not happy with the level of support you’re receiving. Our specialist community care team will discuss your situation with you and make sure you or your loved one has access to all available NHS and social care services.

We will explain your care funding options and how to apply for them, so you can have support arranged ready for when you leave hospital.

Fees and funding

There are various funding options available for care fees, depending on your circumstances and needs. We recommend you seek advice as soon as possible, to ensure the necessary arrangements are in place before your discharge from hospital.

NHS continuing care

If it’s likely that you or a family member will have ongoing healthcare needs once discharged from hospital, you may be entitled to NHS continuing care. This is a package of care arranged and funded by the NHS for people no longer in hospital, but who have complex and on-going healthcare needs.

Personal health budgets

A personal health budget is the money allocated by the NHS to those eligible for NHS continuing care, to fund care and support for their long-term health needs. It allows individuals to decide what care they need, how they want their care delivered and by whom.

Social care and direct payments

Your local authority will have a wide range of social care services available to support you following a major trauma, including:

  • Residential care
  • Home care services
  • Adaptations to your home
  • Recreational and occupational activities

You’ll need to complete an assessment to find out what you are entitled to, and we are here to guide you through this application process.

We are very experienced in helping our major trauma clients with the financial aspects of their care, in particular direct payments, which allow you to purchase the services you need once your application is approved.

We are here to help

Personal injury

Discover how our expert injury lawyers can help you.

Decision making

Making decisions about important matters can be difficult after a major trauma, so we will make sure you have the right arrangements in place and the very best support available

If you or a family member has suffered a major trauma, you may need someone to make important decisions on your behalf, such as controlling and managing your financial affairs.

Similarly, if you have a child who has been left severely injured, you will most likely need help with organising their day-to-day needs such as care, education, living arrangements and general welfare.

It’s important to us that you can make well-informed decisions about what you should do in this situation. Our specialist court of protection team will take the time to fully understand your needs and concerns, so they can explain the options available to you. Once you’ve agreed, we can put in place all the necessary arrangements and legal structures, which often involve powers of attorney or deputyships, trusts and wills.

By working together, our court of protection and community care teams make sure that appropriate care arrangements are in place, ready for when you or your loved one are discharged from hospital. We will also make sure your ongoing care needs are properly met. This will give you the peace of mind that you and your loved ones are receiving the very best support available.

Employment

Helping you feel more confident about returning to work after a major trauma, by ensuring your needs are met and your rights are protected.

Returning to work after a major trauma can be an anxious time, but with the right help you should feel confident you have the support and arrangements you need to help you manage more easily.

Our highly-experienced employment team provides a full range of employment law services, including advice on terms of employment and contracts, making sure your employer fulfils their duty to make reasonable adjustments, and matters involving discrimination and employment tribunal claims.

Employment terms and rights

A change in your circumstances may mean your employment documents (such as your employment contract and staff handbook) need reviewing. We can do this for you, and advise you on exactly what you are entitled to and what your rights are at work. We’ll also guide you through areas such as applying for certain types of leave and flexible working.

Reasonable adjustments

Employers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to help disabled job applicants and employees. This can include changes to premises, allowing an employee with a disability to take time off for rehabilitation, assessment or treatment, and acquiring or modifying equipment.

The onus is not on the disabled person to suggest these changes; it is the employer’s duty. We will make sure your employer properly fulfils their duties and we can also explain your options if your employer is refusing to make reasonable adjustments.

Discrimination

If you feel you have suffered discrimination at work as a result of an injury or disability sustained after a major trauma, it’s important to raise your concerns as soon as the incident has occurred. There is normally a time limit of three months to bring a claim after the act of discrimination.

Our team will explain your rights and give you advice on areas such as keeping your job, training for a new role or applying for a different job.

Employment tribunal

If a claim you have made against your employer is going through an employment tribunal, we will make sure you understand what will happen on the day and are fully prepared for it. The tribunal has a range of powers and, if it finds you have suffered discrimination, it can make a declaration of rights; recommending that an employer should take certain steps (for example introduce changes) and pay compensation.

We are here to help

Personal injury

Discover how our expert injury lawyers can help you.

Family

Providing the expert advice and support you need, to help you manage how a major trauma affects your family life.

A major trauma can affect the whole family in any number of ways, from your day-to-day life to any arrangements you have in place if you are separated or divorced.

Our family team is on hand to provide practical advice and support, to help you make sense of your situation and work out the best course of action. Our support is wide-ranging, from general advice to reviewing financial orders, to securing care arrangements for your children.

Whatever advice you need, we are here to clearly explain your options and responsibilities, to ensure you are fully informed before you make any decisions.

Wills and trusts

A major trauma can change how you think about your Will, so we’ll help ensure you have a Will that reflects your wishes exactly.

If you are suffering from a major trauma, you will already be dealing with many physical and emotional challenges and will have much to think about. However, it’s still very important to consider your Will – whether you need to make one or if you have one, but you’re not sure if it now meets your wishes.

You may want to write a will or change aspects of your current will; whatever help you need, we’re here to give you advice and help ensure your Will reflects what you really want.

Our wills, trusts and tax team can guide you through the process of writing or updating a will. The instructions we follow will be yours alone; it’s important that you are not under pressure from others. We will give you whatever advice you need, for example on issues such as tax planning or how best to protect your assets for future generations. Above all, we will make sure your will is written exactly as you want it to be.

Other support

Welfare Benefits

You may find yourself in financial difficulty following a major trauma, if you’re unable to work or due to your increased day to day needs. Depending on your circumstances, you may be eligible for certain welfare benefits.

We can arrange an initial review to check which benefits you may be entitled to and give you advice on how to apply for them.

Housing

After a major trauma, your or your family member’s home may no longer be suitable and you might need alternative accommodation or to adapt your current property.

Whether you rent or own your property, we will advise you on your options. We can help you with a range of legal services, such as buying and selling your home, and obtaining consent and funding for any adaptations.

Buying and selling your home

Our conveyancing team provides a very efficient service, identifying any potential problems early and dealing with them quickly. Our support throughout the process will help to ease the stress of moving home.

You can find out more from the helpful information in our guide for property purchasers.

Adaptations

We can review the terms of your tenancy agreement or lease, and advise you on the relevant rights and restrictions.

In some cases, disabled facilities grants are available to help towards the cost of adapting your current property and providing extra facilities so you or your family member can carry on living there. We will support you throughout the assessment process and be on hand to challenge any decisions or disputes if they arise.

Social housing

Local authorities must ensure that those who need to move urgently because of a sudden disability, including those caused by major trauma, are given priority to find new, more suitable accommodation. We will support you during this process, including challenging the housing association’s decision if necessary.

We have offices in London, Richmond, Southampton, Lymington, Woking and Guildford and operate nationally. Contact us for specialist advice and support.

We are here to help

Personal injury

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Contact our major trauma team

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