Motorcyclist's compensation for injuries caused by uninsured driver
Published: 11:10AM BST 06 Jul 2010
Background
The claimant, who was 41 at the time of the accident, suffered a crushed head injury with internal bleeding, a laceration to his scalp, a groin injury causing testicular retraction, a whiplash injury to his neck that was sufficiently serious to cause damage to his eyesight, and multiple soft tissue injuries.
The head injury has resulted in personality changes and cognitive difficulties, particularly with memory. The groin injury necessitated surgery to bring the testes back down to their previous position, and left our client with constant groin pain, which restricted mobility and made it difficult for him to sit comfortably for any length of time.
The damage to his eyesight affected his ability to return to work as a self-employed joiner and window fitter.
More than two years' after the accident our client suffered an epileptic seizure and was subsequently diagnosed with post-traumatic epilepsy, necessitating life-long medication and increasing his handicap on the open labour market.
What we did
Having established that the other party was uninsured, we made an application on our client's behalf to the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB), which deals with accidents on behalf of uninsured and untraced drivers.
After securing the MIB's agreement, we got medical evidence from the following specialists about our client's injuries: neurologist and a clinical neuropsychologist – head injuries; orthopaedic surgeon – neck and soft issue injury; ophthalmic surgeon – damage to eyesight; abdominal surgeon – groin injury.
We investigated our client's pre-accident earnings and liaised with his accountants so we could calculate his past and future loss of profits.
Then we got witness evidence on the issue of our client's injuries and in support of our client on the question of liability for the accident, after the other driver alleged that our client's speed had contributed to the collision.
Court proceedings were issued and we got a court order to have the issue of liability dealt with on a preliminary basis. This enabled us to negotiate a satisfactory settlement of this issue, and achieve a judgment in our client's favour for damages to be assessed.
Once the medical evidence was finalised, in particular in relation to the consequences of our client's post traumatic epilepsy, we secured a date for trial.
Prior to trial, at a joint settlement meeting with the MIB's legal representatives, a satisfactory settlement of our client's claim was achieved on a full liability basis, with the value of his injuries agreed at £200,000.
Case handler
This claim was handled by Nicky Selby-Short, a senior Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives, who works in our in our personal injury team. Nicky has more than 20 years' experience of personal injury work, and her case load currently includes fatal accidents, amputation claims, brain and psychiatric injury, spinal injuries, and injuries resulting from motorbike accidents.
