Stewarts Law Secure Highest Ever Award

A High Court judgment handed down today, valuing a personal injury claim at just over £9.5 million, is a new record by the British Courts.

The award was for the severe injuries sustained by Waseem Sarwar, a 23 year old who lives in Slough. He was left a C5 Tetraplegic when he was ejected through the back window of a car, which was being driven by an uninsured driver.

Prior to the High Court Trial it had been agreed that the damages would be reduced by 25% because he had not been wearing a seatbelt. Mr Justice Lloyd Jones presided over a 13 day Trial and gave Judgment on numerous aspects of the Claimants lifeline needs resulting from his severely disabling injuries.

The Judge also had to determine whether the damages for the largest aspects of the claim, loss of earnings and essential care needs, ought to take the form of a one-off lump sum of alternatively annual periodical payments. He heard evidence from Expert Economists and Accountants on how a periodical payment ought to be indexed to keep pace with future inflation. The Judge accepted the Claimant's evidence that earnings indexation ought to apply to both of these heads of claim, which was the first Court award of its kind related to future loss of earnings.

Mr Sarwar's Solicitor, Julian Chamberlayne, a Partner in the Personal Injury Department at London firm Stewarts Law, commented:

"This excellent award reflects the careful attention the Judge paid to the compelling evidence we advanced detailing every aspect of how Waseem's severe injuries would affect him for the remainder of what I hope will be a long life. As is all too often the case, Waseem has had to fight a long legal battle to achieve a fair award of damages and I hope the Defendants do not put him through the further hurdle of a trip to the Court of Appeal".