In striving to achieve the best possible financial outcome for their clients, personal injury lawyers have to know when to compromise and when to dig in their heels. In a case on point, a seven-figure settlement was negotiated for a gravely injured road accident victim.
The man, in his 60s, was driving on a motorway when a foreign-registered lorry collided with him. He lost control and crashed into a roadside barrier, suffering catastrophic spinal and brain injuries. Dependent on a wheelchair, he suffers incomplete tetraplegia and impairment of his cognitive skills.
In defending the claim, the lorry driver's insurers asserted, amongst other things, that the man was not wearing a seatbelt at the time. However, no ground was given to these assertions and, following negotiations, a £5 million lump-sum settlement of his claim was agreed on a 100 per cent liability basis.
In approving the settlement, the High Court praised the enormous support given to him by his partner and a cousin, who had instructed solicitors on his behalf. The Court agreed that each of them should receive £17,500 of the settlement sum as some reflection of all that they had done for him.