Temple Garden Chambers is a leading common law set based in London and The Hague.
With excellence from top to bottom Chambers provides a first class service in a number of different fields.
Temple Garden Chambers is a leading common law set based in London and The Hague.
With excellence from top to bottom Chambers provides a first class service in a number of different fields.
23/01/2023
£1.5 million settlement for a banker who sustained a mild traumatic brain and vestibular injury at work
Lionel Stride (instructed by Oliver Marsh of Lyons Davidson), represented a senior banker who suffered a mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Post-concussion Syndrome/Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness following two separate accidents at work when her chairs had collapsed, causing her on the first occasion to strike her head violently against a hard surface when she fell.
The Claimant’s life had completely changed since her injury. She had been unable to continue working and was made redundant from her senior position at a bank due to poor performance.
Her initial constellation of symptoms included:
The main persistent, disabling symptoms were vestibular (including vision changes) that reduced her ability to concentrate, process information and produced excessive fatigue, as well as dizziness.
Once the severity of her condition had been accepted, the Defendant’s and Claimant’s legal team worked together to instigate a comprehensive rehabilitation package. Although she was still unlikely ever to return to her previous work role, such engagement resulted in significant improvement in the Claimant’s condition. This in turn facilitated early engagement in ADR.
Settlement was ultimately achieved at a Joint Settlement Meeting (JSM) against leading counsel on 19 January 2023. The settlement figure was commensurate with the Claimant’s contention that she would not, absent injury, have been made redundant but for her injuries; and that, despite any improvement, she would not now realistically return to paid employment, but with a compromise that accepted she was unlikely in any event to have worked full-time through to state pension age.
The case demonstrates the benefit to both sides of early, constructive engagement in rehabilitation and ADR (once sufficient evidence is available) in cases of serious injury. Although each side robustly defended their position, the goodwill generated was critical in coming to terms at the JSM.
