"I’m able to look to the future thanks to the support from Digby Brown”

Scott Fagan was cycling to work when he was hit by a van trapping him under its wheels and crushing his ankle. 

He had been riding his bike along the B7082 Grassyards Road near Kilmarnock on a dark and drizzly winter morning and despite wearing high viz and lights, the van driver didn’t see Scott as he tried to manoeuvre into a car park.

Scott, who was 29 years old when the accident happened, said: “I asked the driver if he could move the van off my leg because I couldn’t feel anything at first but then I saw the sole of my foot was facing towards me and I realised how bad it was.

“I was trying to pull myself out, but the passenger of the van said not to move and covered me in coats to keep me warm while we waited for the ambulance to arrive.”

Mr Fagan was taken to University Hospital Crosshouse in Kilmarnock where he was treated for the multiple open fractures on his right femur and ankle.

His right ankle has been rebuilt with a plate and three screws to hold it in place, and he has a metal rod running from the top of hip to his knee to support the badly injured bone in his leg.

After two weeks he was discharged from hospital not realising the impact the accident would have on his life until he got home: “My Dad said because of the lack of mobility in my leg and ankle I wouldn’t be able to go back to my job as an HGV mechanic. 

“He said it was going to be a long recovery process and because I would be more likely to get conditions like arthritis that I would struggle to work 40-to-60-hour weeks in a physically demanding job.

“I was somewhat prepared for it because the doctors had said my leg and ankle would never be the same, but I was gutted because I had trained as a mechanic when I was 16 years old and it was all I had known.

“When we realised how much trouble we were going to be in we knew we had to call Digby Brown.”

Lee Murray, Senior Associate at Digby Brown’s Ayr Office, knew specialist help from physiotherapists and mental health professionals would be crucial to Scott’s recovery. 

He arranged an occupational therapist through the Rehabilitation Code which encourages personal injury solicitors and insurers to get people extra treatment quickly to aid their recovery.

Physiotherapists went to Scott’s house to help him with his mobility, but they also recommended he speak to someone about his mental health, which Lee was able to secure extra funding for.

An initial offer was submitted, but Lee didn’t think it reflected the severity of Scott’s injuries or the life changing consequencesof the cycling accident.

An improved six-figure settlement of £600,000 was proposed and accepted.

Scott said: “Lee was absolutely grand; he explained everything in a manner I could understand and kept in contact with me throughout the whole process and explained that it could take some time - at no point did I feel like I was being left to the side.

“The settlement has given me security and will let me buy my own house so I can be independent, but I wouldn’t be where I am now if Lee didn’t arrange the appointments with the occupational therapist - that’s been really important.

“For over a decade I worked as a mechanic and I really miss being in the trade, but thanks to the support and help from Digby Brown the transition has been slightly easier and I’m able to look to the future.”