Aspire Law obtains £4.6m settlement for a client who suffered a spinal cord injury after a vehicle was used to deliberately cause harm.

Background

Our client was a 28-year-old mother who was meeting a friend when she was threatened by an individual before he then entered his van and drove at speed toward her. The van collided with our client who was knocked to the ground and then dragged under the vehicle for approximately 15 meters.

Our client suffered a spinal cord injury which caused her to suffer from permanent cauda equina syndrome symptoms. In addition, our client suffered various additional crush injuries, injuries to her vision and hearing, and significant psychological and psychiatric injuries including post-traumatic stress disorder. Our client was admitted to the hospital for many months due to the severity of her injuries.

The driver was convicted after pleading guilty to causing grievous bodily harm under section 18 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861.

The case

The civil claim was brought against the driver and the insurer of the vehicle under section 151 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. A proactive approach was adopted by Aspire Law and a meeting was swiftly arranged with the legal representatives of the Defendant insurer. During the initial meeting, an early admission of liability was secured. The Defendant insurer agreed to fund a joint instruction of a case manager who would go on to conduct an Initial Needs Assessment so that there was an urgent focus on our client’s rehabilitation needs from an early stage.

The case manager created a taxi account so that our client could attend appointments with various treating consultants following our client’s recent discharge from the hospital. The insurer agreed to fund the assistance of a property finder to work alongside the case manager in finding suitable accommodation as our client was living in a flat which was unsuitable for her needs.

Since being discharged from hospital, our client was wheelchair bound. She could not easily mobilise in her wheelchair around the flat. The flat was cramped and the kitchen and the bathroom were too small for our client to access in her wheelchair as there was insufficient turning space.

Our client was also struggling with neurological pain due to her spinal cord injury. It was a desperate situation as our client was struggling to care and interact with her young daughter due to the challenges she was facing with her spinal cord injury.

A suitable four-bedroom detached bungalow was finally identified as being suitable for our client to rent. Our client was determined to be as independent as possible and the team at Aspire Law focused on obtaining funding for our client to be admitted to a specialist facility where she could receive a holistic package of specialist support to include neuro- physiotherapy, occupational therapy and psychological support.

Further meetings between Aspire Law and the Defendant’s legal representatives took place. The insurer agreed to fund an inpatient admission to the Wellington Hospital in London with a focus on helping our client to improve her lower limb mobility, strengthen the upper-body and trunk for transfers and wheelchair mobility alongside helping our client to regain a greater level of independence.

Significant progress was made at the Wellington Hospital as our client was able to mobilise independently in her room whilst wearing foots splints and with the assistance of a rollator frame. Towards the end of her inpatient stay, our client’s treating physiotherapist and occupational therapist carried out an assessment of the new family home to ensure that any necessary adaptations were made. Level access was provided at the front of the property, a folding shower seat was installed and various adaptions to the shower were made to ensure it was as suitable as possible for our client. The case manager also made sure that our client was able to continue renting the wheelchair that she had been using at the Wellington Hospital.

When our client was discharged from the Wellington Hospital, Aspire Law obtained further interim payments so that the rent for the new property was paid on time. Our client could access all rooms of her new home and was able to complete a flight of stairs with two crutches independently. Our client also received crucial psychological support and due to the progress made at the Wellington, our client was able to get on and off the floor independently to play and interact with her young daughter.

Aspire Law was able to obtain further interim payments from the insurer so that a care and therapy package was implemented when our client was discharged to the new family home. This helped to ensure that the gains from the private rehabilitation at the Wellington were maintained. For example, funding was obtained for our client to attended outpatient physiotherapy and hydrotherapy sessions to make the transition from the Wellington to home as smooth as possible. A personal assistant was also appointed to provide 24 hours of care and support a week to help with childcare, household tasks and support with the management of medication.

Settlement

Over the course of the case, Aspire Law were able to assist our client with optimising her recovery and quantifying the impact her injuries would have not only on her immediate needs but also her long-term needs.

Reports were obtained from the following experts to help with the quantification of the claim:

i. Spinal Cord Rehabilitation;
ii. Urology;
iii. Neuropsychiatry
iv. Orthopaedic Surgery;
v. Pain Management;
vi. Care;
vii. Occupational Therapy
viii. Physiotherapy;
ix. Accommodation; and
x. Transport.

Following negotiations with the insurer’s legal representatives, the case settled for an overall
the sum of £4.6 million in 2021.