Lester Aldridge Secure Major Personal Injury Settlement

The Personal Injury team at Lester Aldridge have secured a seven-figure settlement for a client.

Our client sustained life-changing neurological and orthopaedic injuries as a result of a road traffic collision they were involved in, which was caused by the negligence of a driver of another vehicle, the defendant. Following the crash, our client was put in an induced coma and required an extended stay in hospital and a rehabilitation centre.

We arranged for our client to receive daily rehabilitation from a treating team of experts led by a case manager. Our client is still in receipt of this rehabilitation, although it is hoped this treatment will reduce over time.

The defendant made an early admission of primary liability, but the issue of contributory negligence, how much our client’s actions contributed towards the injuries he sustained in the collision, remained in dispute. This was an ongoing issue in the case, which Lester Aldridge could oppose robustly with appropriate expert and witness evidence.

Successful settlement and outcome

Lester Aldridge has access to medical experts who are renowned for expertise within their specialities. In this case, we needed expert reports from a neurologist, neuropsychologist, neuropsychiatrist, orthopaedic surgeon, trauma consultant, care expert, speech and language expert, collision reconstruction expert, helmet expert, vestibular expert and consultant radiologist to address our client’s complex injuries. These reports allowed us to value the claim and move towards a settlement meeting with the defendant. The meeting was successful, and a settlement was reached, which all parties were happy with.

As a result of the injuries sustained from the collision, our client did not have capacity to litigate. Appropriate applications were made to appoint a litigation friend and, ultimately, a Deputy to administer the award of damages. This also means that the award of damages had to be approved by the Court. This process was dealt with quickly as Lester Aldridge recognised the need for their client to have access to the award of damages for continuing care as soon as possible.

This award will allow our client to live a more independent life.

David Healy, Partner, and Helen Clement, Associate, conducted this case. Helen says: “Although primary liability was conceded by the defendant, the complex issue of contributory negligence required dealing with as well as addressing all the injuries our client sustained as a result of the collision. With the help from a first-class team of medical professionals and an excellent barrister, we were able to achieve a great settlement for our client. We are so pleased that we were able to successfully.”