David Stockdale QC and Robert Smith
Instructed by Jonathan Speight of Chadwick Lawrence LLP.
Reported case in the January 2010 edition of Apil PI Focus.
Quantum: spastic left-sided hemiparesis, disturbed gait, loss of dexterity, tunnel vision, risk of epilepsy and brain damage.
Settlement on 22 October 2009 at the High Court, Leeds District Registry.

The claimant sustained devastating injuries in a road traffic accident on 30 May 2004, when he was aged 23.  The claimant was just short of his 29th birthday at the time of the approval hearing before the court.  The accident occurred when the claimant was travelling as a rear seat passenger in a motor vehicle driven by the first defendant who subsequently turned out to be uninsured.  The first defendant lost control of the vehicle, colliding into the path of another.  The first defendant was later convicted of driving without due care and attention.  The claimant was not wearing his seatbelt at the time of the accident and suffered devastating injuries, including a severe traumatic brain injury, which resulted in him qualifying as legally blind.  The claimant was in a coma for six days.  He has subsequently suffered problems in relation to memory, concentration, change of personality and weakness of his limbs.  He has mobility problems; he also suffered multiple fractures to his pelvis and ribs with associated pneumothorax and pneumopericardum, together with damage to his liver and colon which required a laparotomy and surgical repair.  His sense of smell also reduced.

The claimant is left with significant cognitive functioning problems.  The second defendant admitted liability subject to the seatbelt issue, which remained live throughout proceedings.  The claimant spent four months in hospital undergoing rehabilitation.

At the time of the accident, the claimant was a healthy 23 year old living with his girlfriend.  Whilst temporarily unemployed, he had previously worked as a kitchen fitter over a period of several years.  As a result of hypoxia and ischaemic cerebral damage, the claimant was left with residual spastic left-sided hemiparesis, producing disturbance of gate and loss of dexterity in the left hand and tunnel vision caused by damage to the cerebral pathways, which registered the claimant almost blind.

It was agreed that the claimant would be unlikely to ever gain full employment, although there was a disagreement as to whether or not the claimant would be able to live independently.  His life expectancy was reduced by between two to three years and there was an increased risk of epilepsy.

Settlement
A joint settlement meeting reached an agreed award.  The settlement which was approved comprised the payment of a lump sum before deduction of interim payments an CRU liabilities of £1,050,000, plus periodical payments of £45,000 per annum for future case management and care for life.
The periodical payments were to be indexed to ASHE 6115 at the 80th percentile.  The claim was settled on a global basis with no particular breakdown of damages other than for the approval of the court, the second defendant’s for the purposes of negotiation having not proceeded with the seatbelt issue which would have remained a live issue had the matter reached trial.  HHJ Grenfell approved the settlement following consideration of counsel’s advice and the financial advisor’s report regarding part of the award being by way of periodical payments.