£1.95m settlement for brain injured claimant

20/04/2023

James Arney KC, instructed by Richard Foyster of Ashtons Legal, secured a £1.95m settlement on behalf of a 24-year old brain injured claimant.

The claim arose from a 2018 road traffic collision, for which liability was not in issue.  Quantum issues were fiercely contested.

• The Claimant presented substantial claims for loss of earnings, care and assistance, case management, childcare, accommodation and general damages.
• The Defendant pointed to what it contended was a significant dysfunctional pre-accident history of educational and behavioural problems and drug use.  It also contended that the Claimant had made a good recovery, noting that he had sustained several positions of post-injury employment and maintained a long term relationship.  They contended that he neither needed nor wanted commercial carer input.    

This claim illustrated the benefit, in appropriate cases, of pursuing an independent living trial, to test the Claimant’s real-life capabilities.  In this instance, the ILT peeled back the “façade of independence”, revealing that the Claimant had focussed his efforts too heavily on trying to get back into full-time work, at the expense of domestic responsibilities and family relationships…and ultimately at the expense of his health.  Updated medical reports charting the Claimant’s deterioration were essential in establishing the true value of the claim.

The £1.95m settlement was consistent with: –

• An Ogden 8 valuation of future loss of earnings in excess of £750,000 ;
• Long term domestic and brain-injury related but mainly gratuitous assistance;
• Long term light touch case management;
• General damages (to include RPI updating) in the region of £150,000.