£1.3m settlement for brain injury client

Dealing with clients who have suffered a traumatic brain injury requires a level of expertise that only the most experienced solicitors can provide. Partner Navdip Gill explains how Geoffrey Leaver recently got a record financial settlement for a client.

Background

Our client Mr C. was a 24-year-old warehouse worker, an energetic and sociable young man who loved sports and, in his youth, he had even dreamed of becoming a professional footballer. At the time of the incident, he was planning to train as a gas engineer.

One evening in November 2017, he was a passenger in a car on the way home from a night out with friends. The driver fell asleep at the wheel and the car struck the kerb on the entry slip road to the motorway before flipping several times in the air. Mr C. was found unconscious at the scene.

His skull was fractured, and Mr C. was in a coma for three weeks. He was formally diagnosed as having suffered a traumatic brain injury. Following the accident, long-term effects included hearing loss, an altered sense of taste and smell, and depressed moods, among many other complicated symptoms which greatly affected his life.

What Geoffrey Leaver Solicitors did

 Mr. C came to see Navdip Gill at Geoffrey Leaver in February 2018, when Navdip explained the process, outlining how brain injury claims take time and require specialist input.

Following the accident, Mr C. had been receiving funding for his rehabilitation, but this was stopped abruptly by the insurers in early 2020. Navdip made an application to court to restart the funding and, just before the hearing was due to take place, was successful in obtaining an award of £150,000 to go towards rehabilitation costs.

Navdip and his team also commissioned a medical report from an expert. ‘Thanks to our years of experience, we have access to the best experts, and they are often the key to a case’s success’, he explains.

The medical report recommended that Mr C. undergo an independent living trial for 12 months. As our client had always lived with his parents, it was necessary to see how he would cope living on his own and to what extent his injuries might affect this.

Using the £150,000 awarded by the insurers, Navdip went to great lengths to help Mr C. have the best possible chance of success living on his own. This included finding a suitable flat and risk assessing the property. Navdip also put in place a comprehensive support team, which comprised a support worker, case manager, psychologist, occupational therapist, and a neuropsychologist for counselling.

‘What helped make the litigation bearable for Mr C. was that, as his legal team, we absorbed a lot of the pressure’, says Navdip. ‘We know how the insurers operate and how to respond to their tactics.’

Mr C. responded very positively to the rehabilitation and coped well living on his own. He became physically very fit by regularly attending the gym and was able to restart some of the activities that he had enjoyed before the accident.

Although his recovery was considered remarkable for someone with a brain injury of his severity, there was no denying that his life had changed forever. Several symptoms persisted; his balance was impaired, and he had pain in his arm and shoulder which meant that he could not engage in manual labour. His behaviour had also changed; he was more prone to anger and rage, and this was something which was difficult for his family and his friends to deal with.

A record settlement

In February 2022, Mr C. received an overall settlement of £1.3 million from the insurers.

‘You cannot rush a brain-injured client’, says Navdip. ‘In this case we took the time and experience to explain everything in detail and made sure Mr C. was comfortable with all his decisions. Litigation is stressful for everyone, and these negotiations ended up being very delicate, but he was guided by us, and we were there for him every step of the way’.

If you have any questions or have suffered a complex injury and would like to discuss your claim, please contact Navdip Gill on 01908 689338 or email ngill@geoffreyleaver.com for a free initial consultation.

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Navdip Gill | Partner