Settlement for client who suffered a spinal cord injury whilst having a lesson in a glider

Our client, a 45-year-old female, had a very active lifestyle before the accident, enjoying outdoor adventures like cave diving, kayaking skiing and hiking, and decided to try gliding with a view to obtaining a pilot’s licence so that she could pilot her own plane in the future.

Our client and her husband joined a gliding club and undertook 105 pre-solo training flights over a period of 11 months. On the day of the accident, the client had been ‘winch launched’ into the air and quickly noticed that something was not quite right.

She pointed this out to her instructor who was sat behind her and requested assistance. He responded by confirming he ‘had control’ however unfortunately, due to miscommunication of the ground team and the instructor not taking evasive action, the glider stalled and fell to the ground at speed.

Rehab journey

As a result of the accident our client suffered a fracture at T12 resulting in T11 ASIA B Paraplegia. Our client’s injuries meant that she is permanently wheelchair dependant with no functional movement in her lower trunk or limbs, and bladder and bowel dysfunction.

Our client was determined and motivated to continue to enjoy her life to the fullest, despite her disability and she researched and sourced various ways she could continue her hobbies she had previously enjoyed.

The case and our role

The Defendant denied liability in full and were not willing to engage under the Rehabilitation Code nor provide any interim payments to assist our client in engaging in private therapies and purchasing necessary equipment.

Aspire Law investigated the circumstances of the claim in full, analysed volumes of documents and relevant evidence and sought expert advice from a BA pilot with a substantial background history in gliding, and a leading barrister (King’s Counsel) based in the City of London.

Aspire Law considered the client’s case to have sufficient protects of success and issued proceedings in the High Court for which a 4-day Trial was ordered.

Settlement

Having obtained all the necessary expert evidence Aspire Law LLP invited the Defendant Insurers to mediation to try and resolve the issues of liability and to try to achieve our client a compensation award avoiding the need to go to a Trial. The first two attempts at mediation were not successful however, the third resulted in our client accepting a substantial seven figure award plus payment of legal costs.

This case is an example demonstrating that Aspire Law do not shy away from difficult cases and will fight hard to assist clients sustaining spinal cord injuries to recover much needed compensation where at all possible, and in circumstances where other law firms may not achieve the same success.

We would encourage people to pick the phone up to Aspire law, even in circumstances where you question whether you have a viable claim.