“Absolutely fantastic” service

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This was the response from our client, Rae Scudder, who sent a note to Ed Myers and his assistant, Sue, after her road traffic claim settled.

On the evening of 16 November 2015, Rae was travelling home from her late shift,on on her moped, when she was hit by a vehicle which turned directly into her path.  Rae, a keen and talented dancer, sustained serious injury to both legs requiring intensive hospital treatment.  She underwent extensive physiotherapy, but was unable to either dance or teach dancing for many months.  Gradually however, through determination and commitment, she was able to resume her passion for dancing.

Ed Myers lawyer at Barratts Legal

How Did We Help Rae?

At Barratts we prioritise rehabilitation; Ed was able to assist Rae by persuading the insurers of the car driver to agree to an urgent initial assessment of Rae’s needs. This enabled us to get a payment to fund rehabilitation. This meant Rae could recover more quickly from her injuries meaning she could also get back to dancing much sooner.

Rae describes Ed’s advice as “straightforward, honest and trustworthy”. We pride ourselves that clients are recommended to come to Barratts for a personal, specialist service. That is why it’s great news to hear Rae tell us that “You made a difficult time much easier and I felt treated with dignity and respect throughout.”

Sue helped Rae by communicating direct with the Vehicle recovery company, making “complicated and confusing” jargon understandable. Indeed, Rae says that Sue remained “calm and collected” and she had”incredible support and service” from our Personal Injury team.

After lengthy negotiations, Ed persuaded the insurers to accept responsibility for the accident. They paid compensation for Rae’s physical and psychological injuries. The insurers also compensated Rae for her future losses because her injuries were likely to affect her career as a dancer.

We ask clients to tell us how we can improve our service. Rae said there was nothing – she thinks we are “efficient, professional and welcoming- I can’t praise them enough”.

Spinal Injury Association Survey Revealed

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The Spinal Injury Association (the “SIA”) polled 136  people with spinal cord injury (“SCI”) to seek their views about litigation. The results show that the current system is too slow but, more importantly, the experience of their lawyer had a significant impact on the person’s compensation. Why are Clients With SCI Unhappy With Their Lawyers? […]

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World Day of Remembrance for Victims of Road Traffic Accidents

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We have supported the families of those killed or injured in road traffic accidents for over 30 years. We have seen changes for the better, such as more speed cameras to limit dangerous driving. We have also seen changes for the worse including the aftermath of drivers texting and using phones whilst driving.

The increase in traffic to and from Europe has also led to more claims being brought for accidents abroad and against foreign drivers in England. There has also been an increase in the number of drivers banned or uinsured but still taking to the road without thought for the damage they might cause.

The World Day Remembrance website has information from all over the world. As well as recognising the impact on families and friends of road traffic victims,it highlights the effect on the emergency services and long term cost for our communities.

Wider recognition is needed to prevent future deaths on the road and to reduce those who are bereaved or injured.

The official World Day of Remembrance website can be found at http://worlddayofremembrance.org/about/

Can A Car Passenger be Liable For Their Injuries?

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Our client was only a teenager when she was injured in a car being driven by a friend, which lost control and hit a tree. She was in the rear seat and you would think that it would be a shut and closed personal injury case. However, the driver had drunk too much and if Debra’s client had known that when she got into the car, her damages would have been affected. It was also argued that she was not wearing her seatbelt. The client had lost a kidney in the accident so it was very important to prove that neither of these allegations were true.

Thanks to Debra’s experience, she successfully argued thather client was not, in any way, liable for her injuries as she did not know how much her friend had drunk. Debra was able to secure an admission for full liability.

Once the fault for the accident was determined, Debra needed an expert to assess the future medical risks for her client, which were high because she now only had one functioning kidney for the remainder of her life. Despite being seen by doctors in the NHS, she did not appreciate how much her claim was worth. Debra obtained an excellent medical report dealing with the extent of the injury, risks for the future of living with only one working kidney and managed to settle the whole claim within 18 months.

The client had been initially unsure about whether to pursue a claim for damages as she knew the driver, did not want to cause any bad feeling between them and did not realise how serious her injury was. Therefore Debra’s client was overjoyed with the result that we got for her and within a relatively short time period too. She was equally pleased and re-assured by the information from the medical expert as she had received very little advice or assistance from the NHS about the extent of her injury or what the future may hold for her.

Debra’s client will be using the money to put down a large deposit on a house in the future. Whilst this will not truly compensate our client, at least she feels that justice has been done and has some security for her future.

7 Figure Settlement For Client With Brain Injury

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As with many clients who have suffered a head injury, our client had no recollection of the accident but we knew from the police reports that he had been driving the car when injured. This meant it was more difficult to prove that the other driver was at fault because our client could not speak up for himself about what happened.

Thanks to Debra’s experience of dealing with complex issues of liability, she finally managed to secure a full admission of liability a year after the accident. Debra also needed to make sure that rehabilitation for the client was put in place as soon as possible after the accident to give him the best chance of recovery. Our expert brain injury team have spent decades working with professionals who specialise in this area so there was no delay finding the right people to help with therapy, care and equipment. Debra managed to persuade the insurers to fund rehab through the Rehabilitation Code, on the basis that some fault by the defendant was bound to be upheld.

Once Debra had got the evidence together to secure 100% finding of blame against the defendant, she could concentrate on valuing the client’s loss of earnings claim. This is often challenged by defendants but we were able to get the very best result for the Claimant because of our experience. Debra investigated how her client’s career path would have progressed but for the accident. Sadly our client was not able to continue working because of his traumatic brain injury (TBI). Debra made sure we had the statements and evidence to prove his case.

We think it is vital that any lawyer acting for a client with a head injury has a proper understanding of TBI. Debra’s role as Secretary of Headway Derby and her many years spent helping clients with TBI ensured she knew about the impact of TBI on the claimant and his family.

We pride ourselves that our low caseloads mean we also have the time to work closely with claimants and their families, who trust us to secure the best possible compensation to help them in the future. The final award in this case was approved by the Court and the Claimant needs a Deputy to act for him in the Court of Protection because his TBI affects his ability to manage his own financial affairs. Julie Greenwood, Head of our Court of Protection Department at Barratts, has been able to work with Debra during the claim and is continuing acting for the client after the settlement was approved by the Court. Our Deputy service means that clients have much better continuity during and after the claim settles.

This case is an example of the importance of instructing only senior lawyers with expert understanding of TBI and rehabilitation. Early action and involvement of senior lawyers makes all the difference and produces a better and more timely outcome. The client’s family did not want to deal with large teams of junior lawyers; knowing that Barratts’ solicitors are consistently ranked at the top of their profession meant the family had confidence in us and Debra to do the job properly.