The International Injury department at Stewarts has recently settled the claim of one its most seriously injured clients for a lump sum of £1.6 million and annual payment of £370,000 to cover the cost of care and case management despite contested liability issues. The annual payment is one of the highest ever recorded and is accompanied by novel clauses covering the costs of private medical treatment and a pilgrimage to Mecca.
Mr Q was a passenger in a family member’s car which suffered a tyre blow-out and then rolled several time. The accident occurred in Spain whilst the family were driving back to England from Morocco. As a result Mr Q was left with C1 tetraplegia. He is unable to move any of his limbs and cannot breathe unassisted but he retains full mental capabilities. The seriousness of his injuries mean Mr Q requires 24 hour nursing care and has a reduced life expectancy.
Mr Q’s claim raised many difficult issues. Julian Chamberlayne, Head of the International Injury department at Stewarts advised Mr Q his claim could be brought against the driver of the vehicle in the English Courts and that, if the driver was found to have caused the accident, his British insurer would be liable to pay Mr Q compensation. As the insurer denied the driver was at fault, attributing the accident to an unforeseeable tyre blow out, Julian and his team carefully investigated the accident, obtaining statements from witnesses and instructing experienced accident reconstruction experts to provide detailed reports. Twelve medical and non-medical experts were also instructed to help identify the many ways in which the lives of Mr Q and his family had and would continue to be affected throughout his lifetime. Julian also arranged for Mr Q’s rehabilitation to be co-ordinated by a highly experienced SCI specialist Case Manager to help deal with the multitude of issues that arose when Mr Q was discharged from hospital.
The settlement has given Mr Q and his close knit family piece of mind. It will enable them to rent accommodation with a large enough ground floor for Mr Q, his family and his carers, including access from room to room during periods when Mr Q is bed-bound. The annual payment of £370,000 will be used to fund a high quality private nursing team experienced in caring for ventilated tetraplegic clients. The settlement also contained two novel provisions which require the British insurer to reimburse Mr Q if he can achieve his dream of making a pilgrimage to Mecca and for future private hospital admissions lasting more than 5 days.
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Media contact: Lydia Buckingham, Senior Marketing Executive, +44 (0) 20 7822 8134, lbuckingham@stewartslaw.com
