Kevin’s Story

Kevin suffered serious injuries following an assault. We helped him claim £670,000 compensationWhen Kevin was only 16 years old, he was seriously assaulted whilst working in his uncle’s shop. A gang of youths entered the shop with baseball bats and beat Kevin around the head. They knocked him unconscious.

Kevin was taken to hospital where a scan revealed a depressed skull fracture, and additional bruising to the underlying brain. He remained in hospital for over a week before being discharged to the care of his family. He was left with severe and persisting headaches, associated with nausea and vomiting, disturbed vision, severely reduced memory and concentration, and dizzy episodes which resulted in him falling over. These symptoms reduced slightly over time but they did not go away.

Kevin is unable to return either to education or school. He had planned to go to college and then become an apprentice mechanic. Until the assault, Kevin enjoyed playing cricket and football. He reached a very high amateur level in both sports. He can’t pursue any of these interests following the attack.

The Legal Case

An Application was made to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. They turned Kevin’s claim down on the basis that he had not reported the accident to the police. At that point he instructed us. We were able to explain to the CICA that Kevin was in no state to call the police after the accident. We also told them that a bystander had called the police so they were aware of the incident.

Our solicitor then attempted to persuade the CICA to obtain expert medical opinion to confirm the extent of Kevin’s injuries. Unfortunately the reports the CICA obtained were, in our view, inadequate. As a result we arranged for reports to be prepared by a Neurosurgeon, a Neuropsychologist and a care expert. We submitted these reports to the CICA and they made an offer of compensation. This offer was just over £400,000 but we thought this was too little. On our advice Kevin rejected this and we proceeded to an Appeal. The Appeal Panel awarded Kevin just under £670,000.