Success Stories for Children’s Brain Injury Cases
If you are considering pursuing a child brain injury claim, browse our success stories to learn about the exceptional legal and emotional support we provide during a claim, what a case involves and what compensation for care, treatment, accommodation and loss of earnings you and your family may be entitled to.
Child Brain Injury as a result of Medical Negligence
£33 million for a child who suffered a catastrophic brain injury
Caroline Klage led the team which acted for ‘Brandon’, a child who suffered a catastrophic brain injury due to mistakes made during and after his birth at Norfolk & Norwich Hospital, part of Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Brandon received a landmark compensation settlement of approximately £33 million.
This settlement is one of the highest ever recorded for a clinical negligence claim in England and Wales and will provide Brandon with lifelong round the clock care. Brandon has permanent and complex injuries, including difficulties with cognition, speech and language, mobility, sensory regulation, and behaviour, as well as severe and uncontrollable epilepsy.
We obtained interim payments of compensation throughout the claim which funded a wide range of interventions to meet Brandon’s complex needs. These included intensive and extensive therapy, specialist aids and equipment, care, psychological support for the family and private tutoring for his siblings. A suitable property was also bought and adapted to meet Brandon’s specific needs with input from an architect specialising in disability. The property includes a sensory room, a therapy room, carers’ accommodation, and a sensory garden and is specially designed to deliver the care and therapy package seamlessly in a safe, engaging and fun environment.
£20.5 million settlement for our client who suffered a traumatic brain injury during birth
Tamsin Day led the team who acted for “Edward”, our client who suffered a brain injury due to complications during birth at Newham University Hospital, run by Barts Health NHS Trust. His mother brought a claim, arguing that medical staff failed to monitor the CTG properly and neglected to arrange a foetal blood sample and obstetric review. The Trust accepted that an earlier Caesarean Section would have prevented the injury.
Once liability was agreed, we acted swiftly to secure vital support for the family, including more suitable accommodation to allow space for carers and therapy. The case remained ongoing for several years due to uncertainties around our client’s evolving medical needs, including a period of increased dystonia which required thorough investigation.
Our client has bilateral cerebral palsy affecting all four limbs, is tube-fed due to swallowing difficulties, and has undergone surgery for hip dislocation. He also lives with visual impairment, epilepsy, profound learning disability, and is at risk of spinal curvature requiring future surgery. He remains entirely dependent on others for care and mobility.
A key challenge was securing the extensive support required, including 24-hour 2:1 care, therapy, and equipment. Interim payments funded professional care to supplement the tireless efforts of his parents, alongside case management, aids, and therapies such as physiotherapy, speech and language, and occupational therapy. Despite visual impairment and no verbal communication, our client has begun to communicate using an eye gaze system—a promising development we hope will continue.
Following lengthy negotiations, the claim was settled for £20.5 million, approved by the court. Most of the award will be paid annually to fund lifelong care, with a portion allocated for a specially adapted home to accommodate his needs and care team.
£15 million for a young adult who suffered severe brain injury at birth due to excessive use of Syntocinon
Caroline Klage led the team which acted for a young adult, ‘Natasha’ who suffered Hypoxic-Ischaemic Encephalopathy (H.I.E) at birth due to mismanagement of her mother’s labour at Derriford Hospital, part of University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Foundation Trust. Natasha received approximately £15 million in compensation in her claim against the Trust.
We took over the case from previous solicitors who after an 11-year investigation advised there was no claim. Our team obtained fresh evidence showing the hospital had not monitored or reviewed the CTG trace correctly during induction of labour, leading to Syntocinon being continued and increased, when it should have been reduced or turned off, and delivery by Caesarean Section being delayed. Natasha suffered H.I.E and was diagnosed with quadriplegic cerebral palsy, severe epilepsy, mobility problems and severe learning disability. She needs 24-hour care and support, specialist mobility equipment, and specially adapted accommodation.
The hospital trust admitted mismanagement of the Syntocinon but argued Natasha’s injuries were due to perinatal stroke, not hypoxia from excessive Syntocinon. Nevertheless, our team successfully negotiated an early settlement on liability and £1.4 million interim payment of compensation which reimbursed equipment and adaptations expenses the family had accumulated, and funded long overdue care, therapy, and support, relieving the huge financial and physical pressure Natasha’s mother had been under for so many years. They also funded purchase of a lifetime home for Natasha, including the costs of a property finder, surveying, and conveyancing costs.
The final settlement of a £4 million lump sum together with lifetime annual payments will fund adaptions for Natasha’s new home and meet all her care and case management, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, equipment, occupational therapy, pain management, assistive technology, and psychological support needs for life. Having coped with Natasha’s high level of need without help for all her childhood and into her adulthood, her remarkable family now have assurance her future is secure and as independent as possible.
£14.72 million for our client who suffered a severe brain injury during birth
Sally Simpson led the team which acted for ‘Mia’, a child who suffered prolonged hypoxia (lack of oxygen), when a hospital, part of Barts Health NHS Trust, did not check the foetal heart rate during her mother’s labour. We secured over £14.72 million in compensation for her injuries, losses, and expenses.
Barts Health NHS Trust admitted that CTG monitoring would have detected the foetal bradycardia (slow foetal heartbeat) and led to delivery by caesarean section 38 minutes earlier, avoiding all brain injury. Mia has cerebral palsy with global developmental delay. She suffers from fatigue and reduced mobility (reducing further with age), learning disabilities and challenging behaviour. While she will never live independently or have paid employment, she lives in an exceptionally close-knit travelling community, where she is looked after, protected, and accepted. These unique cultural and social considerations demanded a flexible approach to valuing the claim for care and accommodation.
Our team secured a £5 million lump sum award and annual payments of £140,000 for lifelong care and case management, in a settlement that is sensitive to Mia’s cultural and social background and will provide wrap around care to meet her needs in various scenarios, no matter what happens to her parents.
In approving the settlement, the Judge commended our legal team for the sensitive way they had dealt with the complex cultural issues in the case.
£13.26 million for a child who suffered a catastrophic brain injury following inadequate foetal monitoring
We acted for a child, ‘Zara’, who suffered a severe brain injury due to inadequate foetal monitoring by staff at North Middlesex Hospital during her mother’s labour, has received a settlement of £13.3 million. This compensation will cover Zara’s lifelong needs.
We secured this settlement against North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust, despite many hospital records being missing or illegible. Zara sustained severe perinatal hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy and needed immediate medical intervention on delivery, including resuscitation, ventilation, and intubation. She now has severe cerebral palsy affecting all four limbs, epilepsy, visual impairment, double incontinence, profound learning difficulties, and relies on tube feeding. She is non-verbal and completely dependent on others for all her care and mobility needs.
An initial interim payment allowed Zara and her family to move urgently from an unsuitable temporary home to a more suitable one as a short-term measure. Ongoing interim payments funded a comprehensive care and rehabilitation programme from a multidisciplinary team overseen by a specialist child brain injury case manager. Through an appeal to the Tribunal, we secured Zara’s right to access the education curriculum through an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan.
Further interim payments allowed a permanent home to be bought and specially adapted to meet Zara’s complex needs, including wheelchair accessibility, hoisting systems, a dedicated sensory space and a therapy room. The home also has an adapted garden, and communal spaces for the entire family, as well as accommodation for a 24-hour care team. Annual payments ensure that Zara’s lifelong care and therapy needs will always be met.
£12 million for a child who suffered a severe brain injury due to negligence during and after their birth
Tamsin Day led the team which represented ‘Ezra’, a child who suffered a severe brain injury due to delays in care during and after his birth at Newham Hospital. We secured compensation of approximately £12 million for Ezra.
Ezra suffered a severe brain injury due to hypoxia (low blood oxygen) when the hospital delayed in delivering him by caesarean section and further delayed in managing a collapsed lung after he breathed in meconium.
We achieved this settlement in a case complicated by the need to consider what our client’s care needs, educational abilities and earning capacity would have been if the hospital had not delayed, because he would have suffered a mild brain injury regardless of the negligent delay in delivering him by caesarean section.
Ezra has cerebral palsy affecting all four limbs with difficulties with mobility, swallowing, speech, learning and hearing. These permanent, severe physical and cognitive disabilities mean that he will always be dependent on others for all aspects of personal care (he is doubly incontinent) and activities of daily living.
A lump sum settlement of £6,600,000 and annual payments of more than £230,000.00 will meet Ezra’s evolving care needs for life in his own specially adapted home, through 24-hour care with directly employed carers, and private therapy including speech and language therapy, physiotherapy, all overseen by a specialist brain injury case manager.
£11 million for a young person who suffered a catastrophic brain injury due to an anaesthetic error
Caroline Klage led the team which acted for ‘Sienna’, a child when who suffered a catastrophic brain injury when undergoing surgery. Her blood pressure dropped and she underwent a period of profound hypotension and cerebral ischaemia. She suffered permanent brain injury which affects her motor coordination and causes cognitive and behavioural difficulties and severe visual impairment.
Sienna lives overseas, therefore this claim presented interesting jurisdictional issues and required input from local experts on how her compensation settlement would be treated for tax purposes (to ensure it was structured in the best way possible for her) and also on how funds could be adequately protected and managed outside the jurisdiction of the Court of Protection.
The claim settled for a sum of just over £11 million, comprising a lump sum settlement of £5 million plus annual payments for specialist care and case management, index linked to inflation for the remainder of our client’s life.
£10.5 million for a child with cerebral palsy after hospital failed to detect placenta praevia
We acted for ‘Jayden’, who suffered avoidable life-changing brain injuries whilst in utero (in his mother’s womb). We secured a compensation award of £10.5 million settlement.
Jayden was born at Peterborough City Hospital, part of Northwest Anglia (formerly Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals) NHS Foundation. Shortly after birth he developed mild respiratory distress syndrome and was subsequently diagnosed with dystonic cerebral palsy with severe disabilities. Investigations revealed the hospital had performed an antenatal scan incompetently. Proper scanning would have shown the placenta was in the lower part of the uterus (placenta praevia), leading to a timely delivery by caesarean section and preventing the brain injury he suffered.
Jayden is very severely physically disabled, experiencing increased muscle tone, uncontrollable involuntary contractions, postures, and movements. He also has developmental delays and impaired vision. Being PEG-fed due to an inability to swallow and non-verbal, in addition to his physical disabilities, he will never live independently and will require 24/7 care on a 2:1 basis to maximise independence during the day and reduce respiratory risks at night.
Early interim payments of compensation funded extensive adaptations to the family home, professional care and therapy, specialist equipment and additional holiday expenses, while evidence to value the claim was gathered. The final settlement allowed the purchase of a house specially adapted for wheelchair use, with ample space for equipment and carers, and a beautiful garden. Annual payments will cover additional running, maintenance, and equipment costs, guarantee 1:1 dedicated learning support, life-long care and support, and a full range of therapeutic input, including psychological support for the parents. Most importantly, as Jayden expresses a deep desire to communicate, the compensation will fund essential communication technology to maximise independence, personal development and interpersonal skills.
Settlement of £10 million for a young adult who suffered a catastrophic stroke due to hospital negligence
Caroline Klage led the team which acted for ‘Ahmed’, a young adult who went to his local A&E Department with worrying neurological symptoms, but was reassured this was due to a virus and was sent home, without further investigation. Some months later, Ahmed suffered a catastrophic stroke.
Ahmed suffered severe brain injury and now has a significant motor disability and right-sided weakness. He has a significant speech impediment and problems with eating and drinking which are severely disabling.
We argued that when our client first went to A&E, he was suffering a mild stroke, and that if he had not been discharged but had instead been admitted for further investigation, a minor stroke would have been detected and our client would have been prescribed Aspirin which would have avoided the second catastrophic stroke. We obtained a compensation award of £10 million for Ahmed.
£7.6 million secured for a child who suffered injuries at birth resulting in cerebral palsy
Caroline Klage and Maya Englesberg have secured a life-changing settlement of £7.6 million for our client “Charlie,” a young girl who suffered a catastrophic brain injury due to mistakes made at and around the time of her birth. As a result, Charlie lives with cerebral palsy, needs round-the-clock care, uses a wheelchair full-time, and is tube fed.
Despite the NHS Trust denying responsibility throughout the case, we successfully negotiated a settlement, with Charlie receiving 60% of the total compensation award. Early in the case, we secured interim payments to help fund essential care and therapy, specialist equipment, and the conversion of an outhouse into a garden therapy room—giving Charlie a safe and supportive space while the case progressed.
The final settlement totals £7.6 million (60% of £12.9 million), made up of a £3.6 million lump sum and annual payments of £185,000 until age 19, increasing to £235,000 thereafter.
Charlie is a bright and social child who loves engaging with the world around her. This settlement will ensure she has access to the care, therapies, equipment, and accommodation she needs throughout her life. It will also fund eye gaze technology to support her communication, an off-road wheelchair for greater independence, and specialist adventure holidays for her and her family.
£6 million for our client who suffered a traumatic brain injury following the hospital discontinuing CTG monitoring for mother
Tamsin Day led the team which acted for ‘George’, who suffered a brain injury due to complications during his birth at Newham University Hospital. He suffered bilateral athetoid cerebral palsy with abnormal muscle contractions causing involuntary writhing movements and severe disabilities. George remains completely dependent on others for all his care and mobility needs. His mother pursued a claim for compensation, arguing that the medical staff’s negligence in discontinuing CTG monitoring led to George’s brain injury. We obtained £6 million in compensation for George.
One of the many challenges in this case was to put in place the support George needed, when the family home was too small for his needs, including the need for 2:1 care, night care, storage, and equipment. Despite the limitations of the home, we obtained interim payments of compensation to pay for professional care to help support the huge amount of care provided by George’s mother, case management, aids and equipment and therapies, including physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, and occupational therapy. This care, case management and therapy package was instrumental in supporting George until settlement of his claim was possible. Intensive therapy enabled George to demonstrate that, despite his severe learning and communication disabilities, he can communicate basic emotions, request attention from others, make choices, laugh, and appreciate visual humour, colours, sound, and music.
The settlement will allow the purchase of a home equipped to meet his needs as well as space for a care team. It will undoubtedly lead to an enormously improved quality of life for George and alleviate the pressure on his mother.
£5.25 million settlement for the costs associated with bringing up a child with severe disabilities
Claudia Hillemand led the team which represented, ‘Sharnice’ who recovered over £5 million in compensation after London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust failed to detect severe foetal abnormalities during antenatal scanning and to advise on and offer a termination.
We initially investigated a claim for her child, who was born with severe disabilities due to enlarged ventricles in the brain (ventriculomegaly). Those investigations revealed missed opportunities, during antenatal scanning at Northwick Park Hospital, to identify her child’s congenital condition and counsel her on the likelihood that her baby would suffer from serious lifelong disabilities. The hospital should have offered Sharnice a termination.
Sharnice’s child was born severely disabled with developmental delay and no spoken language, which causes frustration and behavioural issues. They will never live independently and will need lifetime support from carers and therapists as well as specialist equipment and adapted ground floor accommodation. They will always be dependent on Sharnice.
The Trust accepted that the hospital wrongly interpreted one of the antenatal scans but denied this made a difference, arguing that by then it would have been too late to offer a termination.
Despite the robust defence of the claim, our team achieved a settlement which will make a make a real difference to Sharnice and her child. It will cover the extra costs of upbringing and lifetime care that her child will need because of their disabilities, relieving our client of immense financial pressure while ensuring her child receives the care and therapies they need to live a fulfilling and healthy life despite their disabilities.
£1.8 million secured for a child who suffered brain injuries at birth
Claudia Hillemand and Mollie Benjamin secured a life changing settlement of £1.8 million for “Aimee”, a client who experienced a brain injury as a result of mistakes made at and around the time of her birth at St Mary’s hospital. As a result of substandard care during labour, Aimee suffered an ongoing period of lack of oxygen during labour resulting in permanent injury to her brain. As a result of those mistakes, the teenager now has complex needs including fine and gross motor delays, language and communication difficulties, challenges with memory, cognition, anxiety and behaviour meaning that finding employment after education would be very difficult.
Following our investigation, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust admitted that there was an avoidable delay in delivering our client. However, it denied that the delay caused our client’s long-term injuries.
A settlement was agreed with our client receiving a lump sum payment, which will allow her to purchase her own accommodation, as well as yearly payments for the rest of her life to pay for therapy and support.
This settlement will ensure our client has the security of having her own property, suited to her needs and near to family, and to be supported throughout the rest of her education. Our client will be supported in gaining her independence in life, engaging in the community and pursuing her interests.
£1.27 million for a child’s catastrophic brain injury due to reduced blood and oxygen supply in the period before delivery
Claudia Hillemand led the case for our client, ‘Ibrahim’, who suffered a catastrophic brain injury due to chronic partial hypoxic ischaemia (reduced blood and oxygen supply) before birth at North Middlesex Hospital, part of North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust, has received a settlement of £1.27 million.
Our team negotiated this settlement, despite the Trust denying throughout the claim there had been poor care of the mother at any time. Ibrahim has severe cerebral palsy with uncontrolled muscle movements (spasms) affecting his whole body, epilepsy, hearing loss, visual impairment, and severe learning difficulties. He is permanently wheelchair dependent and will need lifelong 24-hour care.
While the settlement was only a small proportion of the total award our client would have recovered if successful at trial, reflecting as it did the significant risk of losing at trial altogether, it will nevertheless make a real difference to his life and the lives of his family. It will allow them to buy and adapt a suitable home and move out of their unsuitable rented accommodation. In this easier environment, publicly funded care will alleviate the strain on the family of providing much of the care themselves and assures our client of a safe and secure home for life.
Local Authority strongly dispute school challenge at tribunal and lose
Claudia Hillemand led the team which acted for ‘Kian’ who has cerebral palsy due to a birth injury. He has sleep difficulties, respiratory difficulties, dysphagia, epilepsy, eosinophilic colitis, hearing difficulties and cerebral cortex visual impairment and is delayed in all areas. He is gastronomy fed. He has severe and complex communication difficulties and considered to have severe learning difficulties. The experts instructed in the claim, Kian’s family and treating therapists considered that the special school where he was being educated was not able to meet his needs, due to lack of necessary technology, training and understanding of his condition. Kian’s Deputy referred the family to us so we could secure Local Authority funding for Kian to be placed at an excellent special needs school capable of meeting his complex needs. After strongly disputing the need for a different placement, and a hearing at tribunal level, the Local Authority agreed to fund his placement at the school in question. This will allow Kian to fulfil his potential and thrive, impacting hugely on his quality of life now and in the years to come.
£3.24 million for a child who suffered severe disabilities due to hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy
Claudia Hillemand led the team which represented ‘Tyler’, a child who suffered a severe brain injury due to lack of oxygen before birth. We secured over £3.24 million in compensation from University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the Trust responsible for University College Hospital where he was born.
We argued that the hospital misinterpreted the CTG trace of the foetal heart rate, leading to a delay in delivery by caesarean section and increasing the duration of oxygen deprivation which caused brain injury. While the Trust admitted they should have delivered Tyler earlier, it did not accept that the delay caused any injury. They argued the brain injury happened before Tyler’s mother attended hospital.
Tyler was not breathing, blue and floppy when he was born, and underwent therapeutic cooling to try to reduce the injury to his brain . Tyler has permanent disabilities including four limb spastic cerebral palsy, significant global developmental delay, learning disability, epilepsy, visual impairment, and swallowing difficulties.
The lump sum compensation award of over £3 million will enable Tyler and his family to move out of their unsuitable local authority flat and into a permanent home where they will have space for therapy, equipment, and a live-in Carer. Annual payments of compensation will provide professional care and therapy to offer Tyler’s mother respite and reassurance that he will be cared for the whole of his life.
£6m for a young adult who suffered cerebral palsy after hospital failed to give mother steroid treatment before birth
Claudia Hillemand led the team which represented a young adult, ‘Priya’, who had suffered a brain injury at birth following a long period of artificial ventilation which caused a bleed on the brain. Priya was born prematurely and experienced a traumatic birth by forceps at Basildon Hospital in Essex. We recovered £6 million for Priya in settlement of her compensation claim.
While the hospital admitted it had failed to give Priya’s mother steroid treatment in the days before the premature birth, it denied this made any difference. The main argument was whether Priya could have avoided the long-term use of a breathing machine, which led to bleeding in the brain, if her mother had received this steroid treatment.
Now an adult, Priya’s cerebral palsy affects her mobility and her ability to perform many ordinary everyday tasks. The settlement has given Priya with the opportunity to buy a home, support to live independently and work part-time, building self-confidence and enabling her to achieve her full potential.
£500,000 settlement for our client who suffered a brain injury due to delayed caesarean section
Sally Simpson led the team which acted for ‘Yusuf’, a child who suffered Hypoxic Ischaemic Encephalopathy (H.I.E), a brain injury caused by lack of oxygen and blood flow to the brain around the time of his birth. We secured a compensation award of £500,000 against Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust.
Yusuf’s mother experienced a tear in her uterus shortly before giving birth by an emergency caesarean section at Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Yusuf was born pale and limp, with no signs of breathing. He required neonatal resuscitation, intubation, and neonatal cooling The Trust admitted the hospital should have delivered Yusuf before his mother’s uterus ruptured but initially denied this delay caused any damage. While they later admitted the lack of oxygen and blood flow to the brain around birth had caused Yusuf a brain injury, they said Yusuf, who is doing well at mainstream school with no reported learning difficulties, had made a full recovery from the incident and any further problems were unrelated to the lack of oxygen he experienced at birth.
The compensation will ensure Yusuf receives the early intervention and continued speech and language therapy and neuropsychology needed during his crucial childhood years, significantly reducing any future needs he may have.
Child Brain Injury as a result of Personal Injury
£17 million settlement for a child who suffered catastrophic brain and head injuries in a road traffic collision
Caroline Klage led the team which acted for, ‘Ayaan’ who suffered devastating injuries in a road traffic collision. We secured compensation of £17 million for her injuries, losses, and expenses.
Ayaan was a back seat passenger when the car she was travelling in was hit by a vehicle approaching at speed from the opposite direction. Ayaan suffered complex and overlapping injuries, including a severe brain injury with multiple facial injuries and skull fractures requiring major reconstruction. Ayaan now has epilepsy, learning and behavioural difficulties, significant physical, vision and auditory disabilities, all of which mean she is very dependent on others and will need high levels of care for the rest of her life. She is very conscious of the facial scarring and has suffered psychological injuries.
We took over the claim from previous solicitors and worked swiftly to achieve this settlement. The lump sum of £7 million and annual payments to meet all Ayaan’s accommodation, care, therapy, and case management needs for life, give her parents peace of mind that with this support, their child can lead a rich and fulfilling life and be kept safe. Above all, after an accident which truly turned the entire family’s lives upside down, Ayaan’s brothers and sisters will remain siblings, never carers, while her parents can go back to being Mum and Dad.
£1.5m for child who sustained severe brain injury in e-scooter collision
Cheryl Abrahams, and Tamsin Day led the team which acted for ‘Leo’, a child who suffered a severe brain injury when a car struck the e-scooter he was on.
We secured compensation of over £1.5 million for Leo in this challenging and novel case. Leo’s traumatic brain injury caused difficulties with concentration, memory, executive function and behavioural management issues. The driver of the car denied responsibility for the accident and argued Leo was riding the e-scooter illegally, without a helmet and rode without warning across the road into the path of his car.
Despite these significant hurdles, we secured this substantial compensation award, which will be managed by a professional deputy to meet our client’s on-going needs for therapy and support.
£800,000 for child who suffered a severe brain injury in a hit and run
We represented a young adult, ‘Omar’, who suffered a severe traumatic brain injury as a child when struck by a speeding motor cyclist while crossing the road on his skateboard. We obtained £800,000 compensation for Omar with the chance to seek more compensation if he later developed Epilepsy.
We fought this complex and fiercely contested claim after taking over the case from previous solicitors. Omar suffered a severe traumatic brain injury, causing personality and behavioural changes, including anxiety and depression, as well as fractures of his left leg and a deep degloving laceration to the back of his left knee. Difficulties with planning and organising, memory, information processing, idea generation and fatigue due to the brain injury affected his schoolwork, home life and emotional wellbeing, as well as his job prospects.
The Motor Insurers Bureau, acting for the speeding motor cyclist who failed to stop, blamed a lack of parental control and a lack of personal protection for the accident and the injuries. After rejecting an offer to settle the claim on the basis that our client was 85% to blame, we succeeded at trial in proving that the defendant was 80% to blame and obtained an interim payment of £75,000 to support our client through his recovery.
The Defendant argued that Omar had fully recovered from his injuries. However, our evidence proved that while the orthopaedic injuries had largely resolved, ongoing symptoms from the brain injury, including dizziness, headaches, and low mood, were permanent. The eventual settlement of £800,000.00 will support this vulnerable adult to develop organisation skills and reach his goal of going to university. He can also apply in the future for extra compensation should he develop epilepsy.
Life changing brain injury for a young boy run over by a car whilst crossing the road
Cheryl Abrahams represented a 5 year old boy who was struck by a car when crossing a quiet residential road. He sustained a brain injury as well as a severe head injury and multiple fractures. He was rushed to hospital by ambulance in his mother’s arms.
Although there were no witnesses, we sued the driver of the car on the basis that he did not see our client prior to the accident and was therefore not paying attention. Had he been paying attention, he would have seen our client and been able to avoid the accident. The Defendant denied he was responsible because he said our client ran out into the road between parked cars.
Before the trial to establish who was responsible for the accident, we met with the Defendant’s representatives and succeeded in negotiating a favourable agreement whereby the Defendant accepted a large proportion of responsibility for the accident (two thirds). As a result of this agreement, our client will receive significant compensation which will ensure his needs are met for life.
We are now focussed on setting up a comprehensive rehabilitation and care package to help him to achieve his full potential, despite his life changing injuries. We are also gathering all of the evidence we need to prove the nature and extent of our client’s injuries and how they will impact his life which will help us to maximise his compensation award.
Compensation for mother who witnessed her son in a road traffic accident
Cheryl Abrahams led the team which acted for ‘Sarah’ a parent who witnessed the horrific aftermath of a road traffic accident involving her young son. Sarah’s son suffered multiple injuries in the accident including a severe head injury and a traumatic brain injury. We also acted for Sarah’s son in relation to his personal injury claim.
Sarah cared for her severely injured child as paramedics provided emergency care at the scene of the accident. Sarah thought her son was going to die from his injuries. She stayed with him as he was rushed to the hospital by ambulance.
We obtained compensation for Sarah in relation to the the psychiatric injury (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) she suffered and consequential losses caused by witnessing the aftermath of the road traffic accident involving her son . Further details about Secondary Victim Claims can be found in this blog.
We obtained £100,000 compensation for Sarah for her injuries and losses.
Education claims
EHCP success following two appeals to SENDist for child with cerebral palsy
Claudia Hillemand successfully represented our client ‘Sophie’ in two appeals in the Education Tribunal (SENDist). The first appeal , which settled before a final hearing, challenged the local authority’s decision to refuse Sophie an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP). The local authority’s position was particularly surprising in light of Sophie’s diagnosis of cerebral palsy and the professional evidence we obtained from occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech and language and education psychology to say that she had clear special educational needs which could not be met by the school’s existing budget.
Once the Local Authority agreed to give Sophie an EHCP , a further appeal to the SENDist was needed to ensure the provision in the plan was sufficient. The proposed EHCP from the Local Authority was lacking across all Sophie’s areas of need. This dispute proceeded to a full hearing where ultimately the Tribunal agreed that Sophie needed full time 1:1 learning support assistance, and almost all of her parents proposed changes regarding therapeutic input were accepted.
Sophie is now settled in a mainstream school with enough support to ensure she can flourish and reach her potential.
Further information about getting a Education Health Care Plan can be found in Claudia’s blog.
EHCP secured for client expelled from three mainstream schools
Caroline Klage led the team which acted for , ‘Oscar’ who suffered a moderate to severe brain injury in an accident. He has significant behavioural problems including anger outbursts, verbal aggression, defiance, impulsivity, limited concentration and poor emotional regulation. He was expelled from three mainstream schools due to behavioural problems. As well as representing Oscar in his personal injury claim and securing compensation for him, we also successfully applied for an Education and Health Care Plan for Oscar and secured his placement at a specialist school.
