Head Injury Claims

Accident on boarding an aircraft

Our client was a passenger on a British Airways flight from Tel Aviv to London. On boarding and before take off she was hit on the head by an overhead locker. Our client was recovering from major brain surgery at the time and had recently been discharged from hospital in Tel Aviv. She alleged that the blow to her head had caused a relapse of symptoms including seizures (fits) which the surgery had been meant to rectify. She also reported problems with her sight, a lack of feeling in her right arm and leg, and became depressed. Under the Montreal Convention, our client was entitled to hold British Airways responsible for her injuries as these had taken place whilst boarding the aircraft. British Airways settled the action shortly after court proceedings were issued for a sum which we cannot disclose as our client is bound by a confidentiality agreement.

Assault in a pub

We acted for Miss J, a barmaid, when a fight broke out in the bar she was working in, and an ashtray was thrown and struck her on the back of her head. She sustained a head injury and we recovered £16,000 in compensation.

Battling with Motor Insurers Bureau

Miss C was a rear seat passenger in a car driven by an uninsured driver. The car was travelling in the bus lane when it skidded in a pool of water, the driver lost control and there was a head on collision with a bus travelling in the opposite direction. The Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) on behalf of the uninsured driver denied liability, saying that Miss C knew or should have know that the driver was uninsured and so shouldn’t have been travelling with him. The MIB also argued that she was not wearing a seat belt and that she was therefore responsible for her own injuries. Miss C had serious head injuries and could not give any reliable evidence herself about whether or not she knew the driver was uninsured. We obtained statements from her friends and family to show that she probably did not know, and we secured evidence to show that the seat belt was not working. Following negotiations the MIB made an offer, which Miss C accepted, to pay 90% of the award, and paid out £200,000.

Bolt Burdon Kemp Double Initial Compensation Award

We represented Mr U who had been the victim of a vicious assault which left him blind in one eye and with a severe permanent brain injury. His attackers were never found by the police or convicted of their crime. Mr U was cared for by his ex wife in the former matrimonial home, and she initiated a Criminal Injuries Compensation Claim on his behalf, with our help. The claim was accepted by the CICA and it was clear that there would be an argument on the severity of the injury, and the care and Court of Protection costs, which made up the bulk of the financial loss claim. The CICA originally offered £88,650 which we rejected. We went on to obtain independent evidence from doctors and a care expert. Once confronted with this evidence, and a fully detailed schedule supporting our client's losses, the CICA increased their award to over £190,000, which we accepted. This will form a fund to assist our client for the future: he wishes to return to Nigeria where he wants to build a house on family land and settle with relatives who will look after him. We wish him well!

Catastrophic brain injury due to hospital failure to manage condition

The Claimant, Mrs R was a 58 year old woman originally from Mauritius. She suffered a moderate stroke in December 2003 after which she was weak down the right side and her speech was slightly slurred. There was also some weakness on the right side of the face but she could be understood and she was coherent and rational. Due to the Defendant’s subsequent failure to properly manage her condition in January 2004, she suffered a more significant stroke. This second stroke left the Claimant with catastrophic mental and physical disability. She suffered a dense right hemiparesis (paralysis down the right side) with severe aphasia (disorder of language). As a result she is unable to walk more than a few yards with a leg brace. She became dependent upon a wheelchair outside of the house and as she deteriorates with age she is likely to need to use one inside the house too. She has no use of her right arm and needs assistance with most activities of daily living. She cannot speak and has no means of communicating unaided. It is questionable how much of the spoken word she understands. She was significantly cognitively disabled.

Liability for the Second Stroke was admitted after the liability experts produced their joint statements. After extensive medical and quantum evidence was obtained, the court had no hesitation in approving a settlement of the claim for the injuries sustained by the second stroke of a lump sum of £1.25 million together with annual periodical payments of £110,000 for the remainder of the Claimant's life. (Conducting solicitor: Jo Chapman)

Catastrophic injuries for boy on his bicycle

Our client was aged 12 when he cycled from land owned by a local council onto a ‘cycle way’, straight into the path of a moped; he suffered very serious head injuries. Our client’s mother had originally instructed another firm but was dissatisfied with their lack of progress and 7 years later, transferred the case to Bolt Burdon Kemp. We argued that the local council knew that there was a risk of children cycling from their land on to the cycle way and they should have fenced off the land to prevent such accidents happening.

A barrister advised that the claim would not succeed because, with the passage of time, we could not trace witnesses to previous similar accidents. However, we persevered in investigating and ultimately succeeded in obtaining evidence in support of the claim, producing a settlement of liability approved by the court of 70/30 in the Defendant's favour. Before the accident, our client had been a normal school boy who - when he left school - would have gone into a semi-skilled or skilled manual job and enjoyed normal social interaction and family life. The accident meant that instead he suffered a severe head injury, with fractures to the temporal and basal skull and a subarachnoid haemorrhage. He was unconscious for several weeks and had extensive post traumatic amnesia. Although he made a good physical recovery he developed dysexecutive syndrome with very little insight into his predicament. He was unable to plan ahead or to do more than one task at a time, and also suffered from complex partial seizures with loss of consciousness. We contended for a structured life package involving significant amounts of time devoted entirely to leisure pursuits with short periods of work.

The Defendant made a payment into Court of £165,000, which they later increased to £550,000. This was rejected and by negotiation the Defendant's offer was increased to £600,000 (the equivalent of £1.8m on full liability), which was accepted and approved by the Court.

Customer in shop injured by falling stock

We acted for Mrs R who was a customer in a Pound Saver shop. As she was shopping a stack of boxes fell on her and hit her head. We recovered £1,500 for her.

Cyclist hit by car on wrong side of the road

Mr X suffered serious head injuries when he was knocked off his bicycle by a car driven by the Defendant. Liability was in dispute throughout. His injuries included frontal lobe injuries which resulted in language and communication difficulties and some intellectual impairment. There were no independent eye witnesses to the accident. Our investigations found a tyre mark on the road which showed that the defendant's car was on the wrong side of the road at the time of impact. Following negotiations, the claim settled for £350,000.00, which took into account Mr X's failure to wear a cycle helmet.

Cyclist not wearing a helmet

Mr W suffered very serious head injuries in a road traffic accident when he was knocked off his bicycle by a car being driven in the opposite direction by the defendant. The defendant denied liability, saying that Mr W had turned right across his path, giving him no opportunity to avoid a collision. There were no independent eye witnesses to the accident and, because of his severe head injury, Mr W had no memory of the accident at all. By carefully analysing the damage to the bicycle and the car, the skid marks and the debris on the road we established that the collision had occurred on our client's side of the road, while he was stationary waiting for the defendant to pass and that the defendant was to blame. Mr W, unfortunately, was not wearing a helmet and the defendant argued that he was entirely responsible for his own injuries. We obtained evidence from an independent cycle helmet expert and using calculations to determine the speed of the car, established that because of the speed and position of impact a helmet would not have made a significant difference to Mr W's injuries. The Court approved a settlement of £350,000.00.

Fall over low parapet wall into basement flat

Our client rented a Victorian/Edwardian type first floor flat from a professional landlord. It is presumed that the Claimant fell over a low parapet wall into the basement flat area below which was a 15 foot drop onto concrete as he was trying to open his front door. The Claimant had been drinking in a local pub with a friend on the night of the accident. The Claimant sustained a traumatic brain injury as a result of the fall and could not remember the accident. There were no witnesses. At the time of the accident the Claimant was a chef and it was his goal to become a head chef. As a result of his brain injury he was unable to pursue this career but was able to continue working as a chef at a low level. We issued court proceedings against the professional landlord and obtained compensation for our client in the sum of £275,000 at a joint settlement meeting.

Falling concrete block

Mr H, a construction worker, was hit on his head by a falling concrete block. He sustained a fractured skull, loss of consciousness and permanent loss of sense of smell and taste. Psychologically he suffered some cognitive deficits, reduced organisational skills, short term memory problems and mild depression. He won £285,000 in compensation.

Falling pallet causes head injury

Mr R sustained serious head injuries when, while he was working as a forecourt attendant, a metal pallet fell from the back of a lorry onto his head during the delivery of stock to the service station. Liability was agreed in the proportion 90/10 in the Claimant's favour. Mr R sustained a fracture of the left side of the skull, contusion of the right temple lobe of the brain and a thin subdural haematoma in the right parietotemporal region. Fortunately, Mr R made a remarkable recovery from his injuries and we were delighted to achieve a settlement for him of £150,000.00.

Foreign student hit by car

Our client was a German student studying and working part time in England. She was knocked off her bicycle by a car travelling in the opposite direction. She was 20 years old at the time of the accident and sustained a fracture to her right leg and a severe closed head injury. She was flown home to Germany in a coma from which she recovered consciousness about 4 weeks later. She remained in Germany receiving medical treatment and then rehabilitation and re-training. She had difficulties in organising and planning, an unreliable memory and her language and speech were badly affected. She could not continue with her chosen career as an optician but went on to recover £275,000 in damages, taking into account the German law on payment of medical expenses and rehabilitation.

Road traffic accident causing fractured neck and skull

Our client was involved in a road traffic accident shortly before she was due to go up to university. She suffered a fractured neck and fractured skull. Fortunately she made a good recovery from her injuries and gained her degree. Our client transferred instructions to our firm from a non-specialist firm. Liability was admitted by the Defendant but our client conceded that she was not wearing her seatbelt and agreed a deduction of 20%. Shortly before trial the Defendant made an offer which was close to Counsel's valuation of her claim. We continued to negotiate and the Defendant increased their offer to £61,500.

Head injury whilst working at McDonalds

Our client worked at a McDonald's restaurant. She was serving a customer when suddenly a TV monitor fell from its bracket on the wall and hit her on the head, knocking her to the ground. As a result our client sustained a minor head injury which caused moderate hearing loss, migraines, and a degree of anxiety in that she became very nervous about things falling on her. The migraines were very severe in nature as a result of the accident and affected her 6 days out of every 4 weeks. We referred the Claimant to an expert who treated her migraines with migration which improved her symptoms greatly so that she has now returned to her pre accident level. The ENT expert that we instructed recommended that she use small digital hearing aids in both ears to remedy her hearing loss. The Claimant was absent from work for 2 weeks but was paid in full. We obtained compensation for our client in the sum of £38,250.

Last minute settlement for motor cycle courier

Mr B was 16 years old and working as a motorcycle courier. As he was driving his scooter, the door of a parked van opened and to avoid a collision, he was forced onto the opposite carriageway where he was struck by a motorcycle coming in the opposite direction. Mr B sustained catastrophic head and spinal injuries. We sued both the van driver and Mr B's employer, the latter having provided a vehicle which Mr B was too young and untrained to ride, and effectively the means for him to have a serious accident. Days before the liability trial, both Defendants jointly accepted 90% liability for our client’s accident.

Multi million pound award for head injured client

Our client was a market stall trader who sustained a serious brain injury when the van in which he was a front middle seat passenger was in collision with a bus. Our client was not wearing a seatbelt. He was left with difficulties with cognition, memory and frontal executive function and serious psychological, emotional and behavioural problems. He would never be able to work again and required 24 hour care for the rest of his life. The Defendants contended that direct payments were available from the Local Authority and joined the Authority in the proceedings to reduce their liability. The Court approved a 15% reduction for contributory negligence and a net settlement figure of £3.75 million, with no reverse indemnity, thus allowing our client to claim and retain direct payments with a potential value of £1.6m over his lifetime.

Oklahoma resident injured in RTA in England

Our client was an agricultural student at an English college and injured when a passenger in a car. The driver had looked down to change the cassette. Our client's family business was farming hogs. His head injury affected his future career. The Defendant's insurers refused to accept that our client was permanently affected by his injuries and were not prepared to pay what we regarded as an appropriate sum in compensation. We arranged for his parents and the family lawyer to attend court in England to give oral evidence to the judge. The latter was persuaded that our view was correct and awarded substantial damages beating the Defendant's payment into court.

Overcoming an unreliable police report in a road accident claim

Miss K, a young woman of 23, sustained head injuries in a road traffic accident. Her case was that she was at a pedestrian crossing and the defendant driver should have stopped. The driver said she had run out between parked cars and was not on the crossing. Because of our client’s head injury, she did not have a clear memory of the accident. The defendant denied liability and although the police did attend the scene of the accident shortly afterwards, the police accident report contained a number of errors and could not be relied upon to prove what had happened. Witnesses were unco-operative or unreliable in our view, and although two barristers advised that the claim would fail, we persevered. Miss K had sustained a complicated skull fracture but - fortunately - not a significant brain injury. She was slower in her mental information processing and had some problems with attention and concentration but no specific neuropsychological impairments attributable to the accident. The Defendant made an offer to settle the claim for £50,000 which, following negotiation was increased to £56,000 plus costs.

Overtaking accident

Mr H was driving his soft top motor car down a country lane when another car which was attempting to overtake him hit him. Mr H's car turned over and slid along the road for some distance. He sustained a serious degloving injury of his scalp but, miraculously, no brain damage. He was able to return to his former employment after extensive medical treatment and we recovered £110,000 in damages.

Pedestrian hit by car on pedestrian crossing

Mr S was hit by a car as he was walking to work early one morning. He sustained a severe head injury and was unable to return to work. Liability was disputed until the day of trial when a compromise on liability was agreed and a settlement of £165,000.00 was reached at the court doors.

Pedestrian struck by car

Ms H was injured when she was struck by a vehicle as she was crossing the road in Islington. She sustained a fracture of the base of the skull on the left side, with a linear fracture going through the lateral margin of the right middle ear cavity. She had an extra-dural haematoma with some bleeding over the surface of the brain. She subsequently suffered with deafness and developed a facial palsy on the left side within a week of the accident. She was unable to return to her career as an IT consultant. A compromise on liability was reached holding Ms H 25% to blame for her accident and the Defendant 75% to blame. We obtained £100,000.00 in compensation for her.

Prison worker attacked by inmate

Mr Y was employed by the Defendant, the Home Office, at a prison as a civilian instructor teaching inmates manual trades. On 16th November 1994 he was assaulted by two inmates in the course of their escape from the prison. Mr Y suffered a laceration requiring 13 stitches and a hairline fracture to his skull. He subsequently became depressed and made suicide attempts. He developed post traumatic stress disorder and took medical retirement. The Home Office, who initially denied liability, made an offer to settle the claim for £18,000. The case settled the day before trial for £180,000.00, which was one of the highest awards for post traumatic stress disorder ever made.

Psychiatric injury following road traffic accident

Our client was involved in a road traffic accident when he was in a head on collision with another car. Miraculously his physical injuries were not so bad and the orthopaedic experts agreed that he had recovered from the soft tissue injuries within a couple of months after the accident. However he did sustain a minor head injury and developed a marked psychological reaction to the accident, (diagnosed as post traumatic stress disorder and post concussional symptoms), leading to cognitive impairment such as poor memory and concentration and poor organisational skills. He left his job as the manager of the family cleaning business soon after the accident as he could not cope with the highly pressured demands of his work. The evidence was that he was incapable of working until about 4 ½ years after the accident and then only part time whilst he also received some occupational rehabilitation to enable him to function in the job market. It was envisaged that he should be capable of resuming his post accident earning capacity by 2013. Had he not had his accident, it was argued that he would have taken over from his father as the managing director of the family business, with a commensurate increase in salary, a point which the Defendants refused to accept.

Responsibility for the accident was admitted by the Defendants fairly early on, and the issue between the parties was the value of the claim. The Claimant’s ongoing psychological treatment meant that a final diagnosis was delayed, but the Defendant offered £25,000 in final settlement. At a without prejudice settlement meeting 3 weeks before trial, the Defendants were persuaded to increase their offer to £185,000, which was accepted plus payment of the Claimant’s legal costs.

Shaken baby

Miss E sustained catastrophic brain injury when she was two months old, as a result of a violent shaking by her father who subsequently pleaded guilty to the offence of assault causing grievous bodily harm. As a result of her injuries Miss E suffered cerebral palsy affecting all four of her limbs, with fits and seizures controlled by medication. She would have significant developmental delays and extensive health and care needs, unable to sit up or roll over and with poor vision. We achieved the maximum award of £250,000.00 for the injuries themselves within 2 years of applying to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority for compensation. In addition we successfully persuaded the CICA to pay the costs of setting up and administering the trust fund, when normally those costs would be deducted from the award.

Teenager falls in derelict building

Miss F, 13, suffered a very severe head injury when playing with friends in a derelict building. She fell through a hole in the top floor and fell 15 feet, landing on concrete. Although she was a trespasser, we succeeded in establishing that the occupier was 75% responsible and went on to recover £275,000.00 damages for her.

Trip at home

Our client was injured when coming home from the pub into his own house. He had been drinking, although not excessively. He tripped on a crumbling step and as a result, hit his head on scaffolding erected outside his property. He was dazed, let himself into his flat and fell down the stairs, unconscious for a few minutes and with post traumatic amnesia for about 24 hours. Clinically the head injury suffered was medium/ severe, but the client had recovered well. He was 72 at the time of the accident. He reported some problems with his memory which - on balance - were caused by the accident, but were not disabling. The client had also fractured his cheekbone and whilst this mended without surgery, he did have a loss of sensation in his cheek from the injury. The Defendant Council who owned the property where Mr C lived, accepted 2/3rds of the blame, and paid out £9000.