Will Waldron QC secures damages of £3.75 million

September 15, 2014

Will Waldron QC has secured £3.75 million for his client, DB.  The facts of the case were as follows:

T11/12 complete paraplegia in a man age 36 at the time of the accident and 41 at settlement.  He had also sustained a mild head injury, causing memory problems.  Two episodes of Syringomyelia had complicated the picture.  Provisional damages were agreed because of that fact.

The defendant declined to offer PPOs and, following financial advice, it was concluded that a lump sum settlement could be justified in circumstances in which very large interim payments had been received and the immediate care needs were likely to diminish once the claimant was settled in his adapted home.

An interesting point raised in the litigation was the argument that the claimant was entitled to recover the costs of his initial adapted housing needs and the costs of a further move to a different part of the country, which he had long planned for.  The defendant contended that any second move was a “lifestyle choice” and thus one for which it was not liable.  The claimant would have argued that, whether that was a correct assessment or not, adapted housing costs would be needed for the move where they would otherwise not have been required and the defendant’s argument was unsustainable.  Agreed damages: £3.75m gross.