We have secured a £27.4m settlement for a seriously injured child pedestrian, which includes annual payments to fund their lifetime care needs. At a High Court hearing in November 2024 the court approved the settlement of a claim for damages brought by our client. The Court had previously ordered that the claimant’s and their families details remain anonymous.
Road traffic collision
The Claimant sustained a severe life changing brain injury in a road traffic collision when she was crossing the road. A claim was brought against the driver of the vehicle and their insurer. The claimants mother initially instructed a non-specialist solicitors’ firm to deal with the claim, but little progress was made.
She subsequently decided to transfer the claim to our specialist acquired brain injury specialists Huw Ponting and Sue Stoll who then took over the claim. The claimant’s brain injury meant she would require ongoing care and therapeutic input for the rest of her life. Their life expectancy was also slightly reduced as a result of their injury.
Interim payments
During the course of the claim, Enable Law secured substantial interim payments (early payments to meet urgent needs) from the insurers to support funding for our client’s care and specialist rehabilitation to enable her to maximise her potential.
The interim payments also enabled our client and her family to move to a larger and more suitable property and to fund their increased living costs.
Pedestrian injury compensation
Our client will receive a lump sum of just over £10m (including the interim payments already received), plus periodical payments of £250,000 every year, which will increase annually in line with a carer’s earnings index. These payments capitalise the claim at £27.4m over her lifetime, the highest personal injury award secured by Enable Law.
The initial offer made by the Defendants’ solicitors was for £1.5m which was rejected. The claim subsequently settled shortly before trial for the total capitalised sum of £27.4m.
Enable Law’s legal team was Sue Stoll and Huw Ponting. Laura Johnson KC and Lisa Dobie, both of Deka Chambers, acted for the Claimant.
Huw Ponting said “While it is understandable that families whose lives are turned upside down by circumstances beyond their control may turn to the first port in a proverbial storm, that move is not irreversible. This case has proved that not all solicitors are the same and that our client would not have achieved the same outcome had they remained with law firm that first led their case. It demonstrates that people affected by personal injury should be very diligent when seeking legal advice and remember they can change lawyers if they are unhappy, so they secure the specialist legal representation their specific circumstances deserve.”
Laura Johnson KC said “It has been a privilege to work with Huw Ponting and Sue Stoll to bring this complex case to a resolution. The settlement is the culmination of a number of years of dedicated work on their part, bringing together a team of professionals to support the claimant and build the evidence to prove her needs for the future. Their relationship with the family has been at the cornerstone of the case and the trust they have built has been an important part of successfully navigating the challenges of litigation and the additional pressure it puts on families who are already coping with the consequences of a life changing injury. Whilst the damages cannot restore client to the life she would have had before her injuries, it gives her security to build a new future and peace of mind for her family.”
What does this mean for our client?
During the four years we were instructed, funding was obtained for a specialist brain injury case manager and a multi-disciplinary team of therapists to ensure our client had access to the specialist rehabilitation she required.
The client’s mum and litigation friend said “Huw Ponting and Sue Stoll from Enable Laws brain injury team dealt with my child’s claim after they had suffered a serious brain injury in a road accident.
I cannot express enough how incredible they both were throughout the whole process, and being able to give some feedback back will hopefully show how grateful my child and myself are with what an incredible team they are, and also hopefully reassure anybody who is lucky enough to have them dealing with their own litigations. I cannot recommend them highly enough.
Not only were Huw and Sue extremely professional, but also personable which made an incredible stressful, emotional few years easier to bare.”
Experts on both sides of the case agreed that she had ongoing care and therapeutic needs but there were differences of opinion as to the extent of the care and therapies required over her lifetime. It was also agreed that she required a larger property, but the size and adaptations required and the costs of the same were contested. There were also differences between the experts with regards to the extent of the reduction to her life expectancy as a result of her injuries.
Mum said ” When we finally went to court for the settlement, after working with these incredible people I didn’t think it was possible for them to go higher up in my estimations, but there is absolutely no way I could have got through that day without them.
I also want to state I absolutely know we would not have had the large settlement we won unless it was for the many years of hard work that these two did for us, and fundamentally the knowledge they had on how the accident impacted on my child’s life, and how different life is for her compared to how it should be if the accident hadn’t have happened. As a mother, knowing all her financial needs will be met and she will live the rest of her life with some kind of positive outcome from such a horrific complex brain injury which has completely altered how their life ultimately should be. She will never have a normal life, but thanks to Huw and Sue she will have the financial support she truly deserves“.
Sue Stoll said: “Through no fault of her own, our client’s life has been devastated by the catastrophic brain injury she suffered due to a motorist’s carelessness. No amount of money will ever make up for the impact of the accident on our client. However, this settlement ensures that she has financial security for her lifetime care and rehabilitation needs so she can maximise her independence and quality of life.”
