You can't do it alone, you need expert legal help

Our client suffered a severe brain injury at work which changed his life, and the lives of his family, forever.

“It was so shocking what happened, even thinking about it years later I get upset. My brother is a completely different person now because of what happened.”

The family contacted a local firm to begin with but because the local solicitor didn’t have expertise in that area of law, the family were directed to Digby Brown.

Suzanne Williams, Associate Solicitor in Digby Brown’s Serious Injury team, took over the case.

“The service was excellent, Suzanne was very understanding and took time to explain the process. She would meet with us or call us regularly so we understood what was happening the whole way through.”

An expert report from a neuropsychologist confirmed that as a result of the severity of his injury, he would be unable to go back to work and was unable to make decisions about his welfare and financial affairs. 

“He has gone from being an able and independent person to being someone who has severe mental impairment. He can’t walk unaided because his brain injury has impacted on his balance. He has issues with everyday things from making a cup of tea to having a shower as he can’t concentrate for very long. His ability to reason and make decisions is very limited which makes him very vulnerable.”

Suzanne Williams advised his family that they would need to apply to the sheriff court to obtain something called a Guardianship order. This allows the court to appoint Guardians who could then provide instructions in relation to the personal injury claim as well as manage his welfare and financial affairs on his behalf.

“I never envisaged being my older brother’s guardian but my two brothers and I are welfare and financial guardians for him now and we are responsible for making sure he is okay for the rest of his days.”

As his employer denied any fault on their part for what happened, we initiated proceedings in the Court of Session. Shortly after, they admitted fault – but said our client was also partly to blame. We investigated this further and obtained expert evidence which confirmed he was not to blame in any way.

As they admitted fault, we were also able to secure an early payment of £400,000 from his employer to pay for suitable accommodation.

“We want him to live as independently as possible. My mum is his main carer and we bought a bungalow to be adapted so my mum and brother are secure for the rest of his life, with an ensuite for a live in carer in the future.”

In the end, the case settled at the pre-trial meeting for £3 million.   

“I would tell anyone that you can’t do it alone, it’s a minefield. We wouldn’t have known where to start. You need to involve an organisation like Digby Brown who have the expert knowledge of what to do to make sure nothing is missed.

“The compensation sounds like a lot of money but it needs to take care of my brother for the rest of his life and pay for specialist medical care - which is not cheap. With Suzanne’s help, we have set up a trust which manages the funds making sure he is protected for the rest of his life, giving us peace of mind.”