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Written on 14th June 2022 by Kim Milan

Boyes Turner’s head injury lawyers have secured a compensation settlement of £1,825,000 for a retired man who was hit by a speeding car whilst a pedestrian.

He suffered a head injury and initially remained in hospital for a year after the accident. Whilst in hospital he developed aggressive behaviour which resulted in him being restrained via a deprivation of liberty order. His aggression arose as a result of his brain injury.

Liability (fault) for our client’s injury remained in dispute whilst the speeding driver’s insurers awaited the outcome of the criminal proceedings against him. After the driver was convicted, his insurers admitted liability but later alleged contributory negligence, seeking a reduction in our client’s compensation on the basis that he was partially to blame for his own injury.

Securing funding for rehabilitation

Following a head injury, early rehabilitation gives the brain-injured person the best chance of recovery. As soon as she was instructed by the client’s family, Kim Milan asked the defendant’s insurers to provide immediate Rehabilitation Code funding. When the insurers refused, Kim obtained a £5,000 interim payment which she used to pay for a case manager to be appointed to carry out an immediate needs assessment (INA) and facilitate our client’s seamless transition from hospital to rehabilitation. She then escalated her request for further rehabilitation funding via the Serious Injury Guide. This resulted in a further interim payment of £20,000 which paid for our client’s initial rehabilitation. The interim payment also helped ease the family’s financial hardship when he came out of hospital, as our client’s wife had given up work to care for him.

As the case continued, Kim’s insistence that the insurers work with her in a collaborative approach to her client’s rehabilitation proved highly successful.  Their attendance at multidisciplinary (MDT) rehab team meetings allowed them to understand the effects of the injury and our client’s needs. They funded his ongoing rehabilitation in full, and he has now progressed to a less intensive maintenance rehabilitation programme.

Settlement provides £1,825,000 compensation in addition to the £150,000 of rehabilitation received

In preparation for settlement, we obtained experts’ reports on our client’s condition, ongoing needs, and future life expectancy taking into account his own and his wife’s additional health conditions. We then met with the defendant’s insurers and their legal team at a joint settlement meeting and negotiated an agreed settlement of £1,825,000 for our client in addition to the rehabilitation funding he has already received. As our client lacks mental capacity as a result of his brain injury, his settlement was approved by the court. He has the benefit of Court of Protection deputyship.

If you or a member of your family have suffered a brain injury or other disability as a result of an accident or someone else’s negligence, and you would like to find out more about making a claim, contact us here.