PRESS RELEASE
On 30 June 2009 at the Royal Courts of Justice, Mr Justice Cranston gave Judgment for Mr Idris Smith, a 57 year old man from the Rhondda Valley in Wales, who suffered a severe head injury in an accident at work on 19 August 2004.
Mr Smith fell from a skip whilst working at his employer's factory. He suffered a severe brain injury, extensive skull fracture that gave rise to a personality disorder and significant cognitive deficits. He had made a remarkable recovery, but his personality was markedly different with instances of verbal aggression, low mood and tolerance, poor memory, reduced concentration & initiation. Mr Smith has little insight into his personality change and needs support from a Brain Injury Case Manager and Support worker.
Liability for the accident had already been admitted by the employer's insurers, and following a five day trial in April 2009, Mr Justice Cranston ruled substantially in favour of Mr Smith for most items claimed.
Mr Justice Cranston held Mr Smith was entitled to the full amount of loss of earnings claimed to the age of 65, the support worker and Case Management hours claimed were also allowed in full, he was entitled to the costs of moving to a more suitable house, and it was held Mr Smith did not have mental capacity to manage his financial affairs and therefore was entitled to recover the future cost associated with administration of his affairs by the Court of Protection and his Professional Deputy.
This decision was in contrast to the Defendant's submissions; that Mr Smith would have been unlikely to have found alternative employment after the factory he had been working in closed in 2006 when he would have been aged 54; that he only required 6-12 hours support per week as against the 30 hours claimed & awarded; that he did not need to move house so should not recover the associated costs of doing so; and that he did have sufficient mental capacity to manage his own financial affairs and needed no professional help to do so.
Mr Justice Cranston had to decide those issues in dispute and it is now for the parties to attempt to agree the final compensation sum to be awarded in accordance with his Judgment. However, the final award will be over £1 million and the fund will be managed by a Professional Deputy under the Direction of the Court of Protection.
Once the compensation figures have been agreed, the parties need to consider the form of award, whether this should be by way of lump sum or lump sum and annual Periodical Payments for the rest of Mr Smith's life. As a result there will need to be a further hearing to consider this & other matters arising from the Judgment, due to be heard before 10 July 2009.
Speaking after today's hearing Clare Salmon, Senior Associate in the Personal Injury Department at Stewarts Law, said:
"I am very pleased with this excellent result for Idris and his wife. Idris suffered a severe brain injury and as a result needs a significant amount of support and structure in his everyday life. His Case Manager and Support Worker have helped him enormously getting back into the community again, and this Judgment means the family now have the financial security needed to ensure the cost of this support is met and the burden of caring for Idris does not fall upon his wife.
Without such support, Idris and his wife would have little quality of life and it would place a huge strain upon their relationship. Instead they are now able to plan for their future with Idris motivated and engaged in community life. "
Idris Smith and his wife commented :
"We would like to thank our family and friends for their support during the last five years. The final outcome has been a great weight off our shoulders and we are extremely grateful for the decision.
We would especially like to thank our Solicitor, Clare Salmon of Stewarts Law and Gerard McDermott QC for their constant support and encouragement, which has helped us through this ordeal. Our Case Manager, Sara Hemmings of Brownbill Associates, and Support Worker Antony Williams have been, and will continue to be, invaluable to us."
ENDS
For further information, please contact:
Clare Salmon, Senior Associate Solicitor, Tel. 020 7822 8026 / 07825 747624, Email: csalmon@stewartslaw.com
Alon Riza, Marketing Manager, Tel. 020 7822 8037, Email: ariza@stewartslaw.com
Photograph of Mr & Mrs Smith available upon request from Stewarts Law.