Boyes Turner’s head injury solicitors secured a £5.1 million settlement and an additional £140,000 of insurer-funded rehabilitation for a client who suffered a severe head injury and orthopaedic injuries in a road crash collision. Our client was driving his sports car when it was hit by the defendant’s car which was pulling out of a layby. The air ambulance service attended the scene and transported him to hospital. He was treated for major trauma which included a severe head injury with an open skull fracture and subarachnoid haemorrhage (bleeding on the surface of the brain), multiple facial fractures, a broken clavicle and open tibial fractures to both lower legs. Urgent Rehabilitation Code funding avoided care home transfer during lockdown Our client’s transition from his initial acute hospital care coincided with NHS hospitals moving patients out to care homes at the start of lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. His family were concerned for his safety and asked for our help in preventing the proposed move and obtaining specialist rehabilitation in addition to pursuing a compensation claim. We sent an urgent letter of claim to the defendant driver’s insurers who admitted liability for the accident, subject to an allegation that our client’s head injury had been worsened by our client’s failure to wear a seatbelt. We strongly disputed the contributory negligence allegation, which remained in issue throughout the case until settlement. Despite this, the insurers agreed to provide funding urgently under the Rehabilitation Code enabling us to appoint a case manager, who prepared an immediate needs assessment (INA), attended remote multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings with Kim Milan, the client’s family and therapists, and advocated for our client’s move to a specialist rehabilitation centre. With this support in place, we were able to overcome pressure from the hospital to move our client to a care home where it was unlikely that he would survive, given his severe injuries and susceptibility to infection. Instead, we secured our client’s seamless transition to a safe and conveniently located specialist rehabilitation unit where he received personalised MDT rehabilitation, funded supported by ICB and Rehabilitation Code funding. His inpatient MDT rehabilitation continued for the next two years, during which the healing of his skull was complicated by persistent problems with infection, resulting in multiple surgical craniotomy procedures. Rehabilitation Code funding is paid directly by the defendant’s insurer and is treated as separate from the injured person’s compensation. One of the advantages of Rehabilitation Code funding is that the injured person’s early rehabilitation and recovery are prioritised, allowing a seamless transition from the injured person’s acute hospital (trauma) care, without the need to wait until liability (fault) has been established or court proceedings have concluded so that payment can be made from the injured person’s compensation. Another advantage to the injured person is that rehabilitation costs which are paid directly under the Rehabilitation Code are not affected by any discounts that may later reduce the compensation settlement, such as a reduction for the injured person’s contributory negligence. Supported independent living after severe head injury After two years, our client had received £140,000 of insurer-funded rehabilitation and was able to move into rented accommodation in a suitable bungalow with round-the-clock 1-to-1 care. He continued to receive support from the case manager and community-based MDT rehabilitation, including physiotherapy, speech and language therapy (SALT), occupational therapy (OT), and neuropsychological treatment. £575,000 interim payments met injured person’s needs whilst the case continued As the case proceeded towards a contested trial to decide the extent of any contributory negligence, the insurers stopped providing Rehabilitation Code funding but continued to provide interim payments which we used to meet our client’s ongoing care, therapies and other immediate needs. Interim payments are advanced payments of compensation which must be accounted for in the final settlement, so our client’s rehabilitation costs were now at risk of being reduced, along with the rest of his compensation, if there was a finding at trial of contributory negligence. Whilst we worked towards a negotiated settlement, interim payments totalling £575,000 paid for our client’s rented accommodation, case management, care and therapies. As he regained his mobility, we were able to arrange for him to take part in supported activities, such as disabled sailing and skiing, which reflected his pre-injury energetic interests and active lifestyle. This greatly enhanced his quality of life and his sense of wellbeing. £5.1 million settlement makes lifelong provision for home, care and well-being needs Our client is in his late 50s with only a slightly reduced life expectancy. He does not have mental capacity, any memory of the accident or any insight into the impact of his head injury. His final compensation settlement of £5.1 million will provide the security of his own suitably adapted home, case management, MDT therapies and full time 1-to-1 care, whilst continuing to optimise his quality of life with supported activities. We also recovered for the local air ambulance service their costs of attending our client at the scene of the crash and transferring him to hospital. Our client’s compensation is managed via Court of Protection deputyship. His privacy is protected by an anonymity order. Read more about our client's rehabilitation journey. If you have been seriously injured in a road collision, and you would like to find out more about funded rehabilitation or making a claim, you can talk to one of our experienced solicitors, free and confidentially, by contacting us.
