Over £4m settlement for man catastrophically injured in a road traffic incident

Richard Foyster, a personal injury partner based in Ashtons Legal’s Ipswich office, has settled a claim for a young man who suffered brain injuries and a number of orthopaedic injuries in a road traffic accident in which his driver was tragically killed.

A High Court Judge recently approved compensation in excess of £4 million. The young man lacked mental capacity as a result of his brain injuries and therefore the decision making during the case had to be taken by an appointed “litigation friend”.  The High Court Judge needed to approve the proposed settlement terms because the client lacked the mental capacity to understand whether the settlement terms were reasonable.

The case required complicated medical and expert reports, and involved significant debate between the experts that we instructed and the experts instructed by the defendant as to the true severity of the injuries suffered and the extent to which those injuries justified the need for 24 hours a day of professional care. The High Court Judge made it clear at the Approval Hearing that he felt that very favourable settlement terms had been negotiated on behalf of the client.

Richard comments: “When we handle cases where a client has been catastrophically injured, our priority is always to work with the family to ensure the injured individual has the care and rehabilitation that they need as soon as possible after their accident. Thereafter the aim is to obtain the compensation that they deserve in order to guarantee an appropriate level of long-term care and support. In this instance we were able to settle the claim for an appropriate sum without having to go through a High Court trial, thereby also saving the client and his family considerable stress.”