'3.7 Million Settlement For Young Woman In Serious Road Traffic Accident

• Published date: 17 July 2020
• Subject Matter: Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration, Arbitration & Dispute Resolution, Personal Injury
• Law Firm: Anthony Gold
• Author: Mr Adam Dyl

My client, now 23, was involved in a serious road traffic accident on 12 April 2015, when she was 17 years old. She was the front seat passenger in a car being driven by her boyfriend. This car collided with the car in front before leaving the carriageway and hitting a tree. The driver was killed.

Approaching her 18th birthday, my client suffered serious and lifelong injury as a result of the collision, including brain damage with resultant permanent cognitive damage and personality change, as well as an L4 spinal fracture requiring fusion at L3-5, bony chest injuries, injuries to her internal organs including spleen and kidneys, and consequent psychiatric injuries.

As a result of her brain damage, my client lacked capacity both in relation to her litigation claim and her financial affairs.

Liability was never an issue in her case. The only issues were in relation to quantification. To establish the value of the claim a collaborative approach was needed between her case manager and various rehabilitation providers, to monitor and maximise my client's recovery and establish what the ongoing problems would be long term. These included:-

Neurology

Problems with her memory and multi-tasking, feelings of disassociation with her body, severe frontal headache and difficulties with her vision. She developed marked noise intolerance and anxiety in social situations.

Orthopaedic

My client suffered spinal fractures requiring fusion, fractures of left scapula and clavicle together and several ribs with in associated lung contusions. As a result she suffers widespread pain and fatigue which failed to resolve and was expected to be permanent.

Internal injuries

My client suffered splenic and renal lacerations resulting in daily abdominal pain, urinary urgency and bloating. She was diagnosed with IBS and persistent hunger secondary to a thalamic hemorrhage which was attributed to the accident.

Psychiatric injuries

My client still suffered with flashbacks and situational anxiety especially when driving. She has persistent low mood and no longer socialises with her friends as she once did.

The experts were agreed that my client needed ongoing input from specialists across a range of disciplines. Importantly it was said that professionals rather than her family should provide support, in order to avoid the risk of overreliance, to ensure goal setting, to monitor recovery and maximise independence.

To achieve this my client commenced a trial of independent living away from...