Partner and head of Anthony Gold’s personal injury department, Jon Nicholson, has recently achieved a settlement of more than £1 million for a young woman who suffered an incomplete spinal cord injury as a result of a road traffic accident.

CD was just 17 years old when she was injured in a road traffic accident. She was a rear seat passenger in a car which was driven off the road and into a tree. The driver subsequently pleaded guilty to having consumed excess alcohol.

Although CD was wearing a seat belt, she suffered an abdominal injury and was admitted to hospital. The hospital staff encouraged CD to mobilise and only discovered that she had suffered a fractured spine 5 days later. CD was transferred to another hospital for surgery, but had already suffered damage to the spinal cord.

Jon advised that it would only be necessary to make a claim against the motor insurers, who would be responsible for all of the consequences of the spinal fracture, including the spinal cord injury which would have been avoided with proper medical treatment. Although the insurers’ solicitors suggested at one point that their client did not have to compensate CD for the spinal cord injury, they later withdrew this argument. CD would not have suffered any spinal cord injury if she had not broken her back in the road traffic accident. Instead, the motor insurers may be able to seek from the hospital reimbursement of part of the compensation which they paid to CD.

Fortunately, CD’s spinal cord injury was very incomplete. She was able to function well, but she suffered from disabling pain. She also suffered an injury to her thumb and exacerbation of pre-existing psychiatric difficulties.

Jon arranged for CD to receive her first interim payment from the insurers within two weeks of his instruction. Thereafter, further interim payments were obtained to pay for a case manager, a support worker, transport costs (including a car) and ground floor accommodation.

The insurers suggested that CD was partly to blame for the accident because she was alleged to have known that the driver had been drinking and because she was seated sideways (so that her seat belt was not effective). Jon successfully refuted both of these arguments. He obtained evidence to show that CD did not know that the driver had been drinking. He also pointed out that it is not generally known sitting sideways prevents the seat belt from being effective. The insurers withdrew these arguments.

Jon obtained expert evidence in the fields of spinal cord injury, hand surgery, psychiatry, pain management, urology, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and accommodation.

It was discovered that the metal work used to stabilise CD’s spine following the accident had become loose and that this was the cause of her pain. Jon was able to obtain interim payments to cover the cost of private surgery to correct this. The interim payments also funded surgery to repair the thumb injury, in-patient rehabilitation, physiotherapy and psychotherapy.

Following this rehabilitation, CD’s condition significantly improved. Jon then arranged a settlement meeting at which the parties agreed CD’s compensation at just over £1 million. 
 

Jon Nicholson is a Partner in Anthony Gold's personal injury department. He specialises in complex personal injury cases and complex clinical negligence claims. His excellent reputation attracts a number of high profile, complex cases. For further information you can email Jon or contact him on 020 7940 4000.