Pre-litigation offer more than doubled after intervention

JOHN FERRIS’S life changed forever when the car in which he was travelling was in a serious accident in February 2008.

The driver, his partner, lost control, the car left the road and John’s spinal cord injury resulted in paralysis from the waist down.

After hospital discharge, John, 38, from Renfrew, received a care package and accommodation by the council. His partner had to help and he was under pressure
to cope without proper support.
 
Digby Brown sued the driver’s insurer, a common outcome with road accidents. Despite denying liability, the insurance company, agreed to make an interim payment to John, before court action. This funded a case manager and a more suitable care package, which replaced John’s lost wages and stopped his dependence on his partner. A further interim payment allowed him to pay for the design and build of adapted accommodation.

As liability was denied by the insurance company, 12 days of court time was booked for next year. However, a meeting led to an early, agreed award of more than £2 million.

The money will be used to replace John’s lost income and to pay for a new home and a care package.

Without Digby Brown’s intervention, the insurer’s pre-litigation offer of less than half the final settlement would never have been adequate to cover John’s future needs.

However, by fully funding the case, the legal firm had the firepower to meet the  insurance company on a level playing field and achieve an acceptable award.

John says: “Digby Brown explained everything thoroughly and were very professional when dealing with the other side.

“They got involved in every aspect of the case – organising buying the house plot, recommending a firm of architects and helping with every step of the process. I can’t thank them enough.”