£6 million for a tree surgeon rendered paraplegic at work

Our client had climbed and anchored into the tree and was in the process of reducing the tree, when the main stem split in two and the part of the tree into which our client was anchored into fell to the ground pulling our client with it. The Defendant, our client’s employer initially denied liability in full and alleged that our client should not have climbed the tree as it was largely dead and was not safe to climb; whereas it was our client’s case that the only way he could fell the tree as instructed with the equipment he had, was to climb the tree, which was expected of him.

Aspire Law investigated the circumstances of the claim, and obtained and analysed all of the relevant evidence and documentation, which included obtaining documents from the Health and Safety Executive and sought input from an Arborist (tree surgeon) expert at an early stage. We were then able to get the Defendant to admit that they were partially responsible for the accident, and then secure significant interim payments of our client’s damages, which importantly provided him with financial security, and enabled him to fund rehabilitation, case management, equipment and support. This included intensive physiotherapy at the Royal Buckinghamshire Hospital and private treatment, arranged by his case manager.

The Defendant still alleged that most of the blame lay with our client, so we issued proceedings in the High Court, London, and a 10 day trial was listed to determine the level of contributory negligence and the value of our client’s claim. After the obtaining of a number of reports across the expert disciplines and consulting with these experts, the case was settled at a Joint Settlement Meeting with the Defendant and his legal team. The case was settled for £6 million after the reduction for contributory negligence, agreed at 25%, with the client therefore receiving 75% of the value of his claim on a full liability basis. Aspire Law  were also able to negotiate settlement on a provisional basis, which meant if the client were to suffer a significant neurological deterioration as a result of a syrinx forming, he could return to the Court for further compensation.