Expert solicitors secure 3.1 million for man left with spinal injury

“There’s nothing I can do to change what happened, I can’t turn back time so I’ve had to accept what happened to me.

“What I would say is that I wouldn’t want my worst enemy to go through what I had to go through. I’m a lot better now and Digby Brown helped me move on from the accident.”

Our client was only 24-years-old when he sustained a L4 spinal injury all because a driver was going too fast and lost control of their vehicle, crashing into a bus shelter.

“My memory is quite bad now so I can’t really remember what happened. I’ve been told I was a passenger on a bike and someone was giving me a lift home. They were going about 100mph and doing wheelies and lost control, hitting a bus shelter.”

As a result of his injuries, he was only able to walk short distances with the use of ankle splints and crutches and was expected to need a wheelchair for the rest of his life. 

He also suffered from very severe neuropathic leg and foot pain, which had a very poor response to medication and proved difficult to treat.  On top of this, he suffered a head injury.  

“Everything changed. All the day-to-day things you take for granted take a lot longer and you may need help to do, like personal washing. The recovery was very difficult but the main issue was the pain, I didn’t really care about anything other than that and was suicidal because of it.”

The driver responsible was convicted in court for dangerous driving and their insurer admitted liability for the accident.  

Interim payment to help with recovery

Suzanne Williams, Associate Solicitor in our serious injury team, secured an interim payment from the insurers and helped set up a comprehensive package of care including a case manager, regular physiotherapy, psychology, massage and acupuncture to combat his pain. He was also able to employ a support worker to assist him with getting out into the community.

“The care and physiotherapy put in place helped me become more mobile, independent and manage the pain. Physiotherapists would come in and take me for a walk or some exercise which helped a lot.”

By the time the case settled, he was going on walks up a local hill with his physiotherapist, was achieving walking distances of 1 to 2 miles and had managed to reduce or completely stop most of his pain relief medication.

“I’ve stopped using wheelchairs and using a walking stick to get about as I’m trying to get better. I don’t like getting a lot of help from people or specialist equipment.”

We instructed a number of experts for this case including a spinal surgeon, neurosurgeon, neuropsychologist, neuropsychiatrist, consultant in pain management, dentist, care consultant, accommodation expert, physiotherapy expert, consultant urologist, pension expert, and vocational expert.

In the end, the case settled in the sum of £3.1m.

“It was the first time I had ever done this so I didn’t know what to expect. Everything went smoothly and Suzanne would always get back to me quickly.

“I think if I went to a smaller firm they wouldn’t have done a proper job and I wouldn’t have got as much.

“My life wouldn’t be as good without the compensation, it helped my recovery a lot and gives me money for the rest of my life for the care I now need.”