Boyes Turner’s head injury lawyers have secured compensation of £550,000 and over £26,000 of rehab for a teenage client who suffered a head injury when he fell from the boot of a moving car. The sum that our client received for his injuries was 65% of a total compensation figure of £846,150, which was reduced by 35% to reflect his own ‘contributory negligence’. Our client was sitting on the boot of a friend’s car, when, without warning, it was driven slowly and then at speed into the road. He was thrown from the car and suffered a head injury with multiple skull fractures and contusions (bruising) to the brain. This type of behaviour, sometimes known as ‘car surfing’, is dangerous and foolish, risking serious injury, as happened in this case. Whilst our client did not expect the driver to move the car suddenly and quickly, he accepted that he was partly to blame and took a reduction in his compensation damages as a result. Nevertheless, a vehicle is a dangerous weapon and every driver owes their passengers and other road users a duty of care. In this case, the driver fell short of that duty of care by driving the car when he knew that our client was sitting on its boot. Our client was entitled to compensation for the injuries that were caused by the driver’s negligence. Our client’s family asked us to help them with a claim following their son’s injury in the accident. Our head injury lawyers immediately contacted the driver’s insurers and asked for Rehabilitation Code funding to provide urgent rehab to maximise our client’s chance of recovery. The insurers argued that our client’s own behaviour had contributed to his injury and this would result in a reduction or ‘discount’ of his compensation settlement for ‘contributory negligence’. Even though liability (fault) for the accident would be discounted, they were willing to provide our client with Rehabilitation Code funding, which meant that his rehabilitation costs were covered in full and not discounted like the rest of his compensation. Following negotiations, the defendant insurers agreed to settle liability at 65% in our client’s favour. With the certainty that our client’s rehab was being funded under the Rehabilitation Code, we were able to arrange for our client’s rehab needs to be assessed by an immediate needs assessment (INA). Our client received a full programme of early rehabilitation. Our client made a good recovery from his injuries. However, he has been left with some subtle problems with memory, problem solving, impulsivity and fatigue. His early rehabilitation and compensation settlement mean that he will be able to work at a modest level and live independently with ongoing support. If you or a family member have suffered serious injury as a result of negligence, and you would like to find out more about making a claim, contact us by email at piclaims@boyesturner.com.
