Notable Cases

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Motorcyclist recovers compensation exceeding £1million

Following a tense all day settlement meeting, the Catastrophic Injury team, headed by Lee Hart, was able to conclude a claim for injury upon payment exceeding £1million in compensation.

The collision occurred on a bend of an A road near Bristol on August 2005. Our client was riding a 600cc motorcycle, travelling north, while the defendant, driving an articulated lorry, had been travelling in the opposite direction.

The defendant had wanted to stop at a lay-by on the opposite side of the road. The lay-by was close to a bend in the road which limited visibility to motorists. The lorry driver turned right into the opposite carriageway.

Our client came round the bend and on seeing the defendant’s lorry blocking his path, applied his brakes. His motorcycle skidded and our client went on to collide with the lorry, sustaining devastating injuries, including a spinal cord injury, a mild brain injury and multiple fractures.

Liability for the collision was denied by the lorry driver and his representatives. It was argued that the defendant was performing a legal manoeuvre in crossing the double white lines to enter the lay-by and that having commenced his manoeuvre, there was nothing he could have done to avoid our oncoming client.

The defendant alleged that our client was travelling considerably in excess of the 50mph speed limit and that he been travelling at, or below, the speed limit he would have been able to stop prior to collision.

The critical issue in the case was a very narrow one: was it was reasonable for the defendant to perform the manoeuvre in the first place? Although he could see that the road was clear ahead, should he have envisaged the possibility of a vehicle approaching from around the bend ahead at a speed in excess of the limit for the road?

There were risks for both parties. If a Judge found that the lorry driver had been negligent in commencing the manoeuvre, an assessment may have been made as to the extent to which our client had contributed to the outcome by reason of his own actions.

If a Judge found that the lorry driver had done nothing wrong, then our client would have recovered no compensation at all.

After a long day of negotiations, our client was pleased to accept an offer of settlement in excess of £1million.

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Davis v Schrogin

We successfully defended an appeal to the Court of Appeal in June 2006. The case is of significance because the Court of Appeal confirms there is no general rule that when a motorcyclist is overtaking a stationary queue of traffic and another party pulls out of that queue and collides with the motorcyclist that the motorcyclist must accept some fault. The case has been reported in Butterworths Personal Injury Law Service, on Lawtel and an article on the case and its consequences was published in The Motorcycle Action Group publication The Road in November 2006.

£3.2 MILLION RECOVERED FOR BRAIN INJURED BOY

Martin Pettingell recently settled a claim on behalf of young man who suffered a severe brain injury in a car accident when aged only 9. The claim took many years to conclude where evidence suggested that the claimant's disability as against his peer group was intensifying as he grew up.

Martin worked with a specialist paediatric occupational therapist during the long and ongoing rehabilitation process in addition to the normal case management and Court experts. Even after many years his long term care need remained uncertain.

Matters where further complicated where there were no less than three insurers involved. The parties considered the suitability of a periodic payment order but in the end the matter was compromised upon payment of a lump sum of £3.2 million thereby giving our client flexibility in respect of his future care needs.

Martin will also be appointed the Client's Deputy in order to manage his property and affairs and will be working with his parents in providing for his future.

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Royal Marine receives in excess of £3 million

A Royal Marine was knocked off his bicycle and suffered serious brain damage. The documented issues included an argument over use of a cycle helmet. Compensation recovered included cost of accommodation and 24 hour care for life. This is the leading Court of Appeal case relating to the effect of statutory provision on entitlement to damages.

Lorry driver receives £1.4 million

A lorry driver suffered paraplegia when a vehicle tipped over due to an unstable load. The defendants argued that excessive speed was the main cause of the accident. We recovered £1.4 million for the claimant and also fund managed in-house until the claimant returned to his native homeland of New Zealand.

A Child receives £3.7 million

We acted for a 9 1/2 year old child who was hit by the wing mirror of a van. The driver of the van stated it was our client's fault for stepping into the road. Once at trial, liability was awarded 100% against the van driver. The van driver appealed to the Court of Appeal but lost the case.

Brain injured Child receives £630,000

We acted for a 8 year old child who was knocked down by a car while buying an ice cream. He suffered severe injuries, including a brain injury. As a result of his brain injury he developed a rare psychological condition know as dysmorphophobia (he believing his head was misshapen) as a result of the accident.