Our client, ‘Woody’, was travelling on his motorcycle when a van pulled out into his path. A collision was unavoidable: he crashed into the vehicle and suffered a serious brain injury as well as multiple fractures.
Before the accident, Woody worked as a driving instructor. He and his wife were also developing a property portfolio for their retirement: they had already purchased and renovated two properties to let, with a plan to purchase ten in total.
The brain injury caused Woody to suffer problems with his memory and concentration. He was also affected by fatigue and emotional difficulties, including anger, irritability and tearfulness.
Initially, Woody went back to work as a driving instructor after his accident. Despite his best efforts, however, he found he had to reduce his hours, and eventually give up work entirely. He and his wife purchased two further properties for their portfolio, but renovations were now extremely stressful due to the complications Woody’s brain injury had caused.
His inability to continue as he had done before, earning money and renovating the properties as part of their retirement plan, severely affected Woody’s perception of himself as a provider for the family, which further contributed to his psychological difficulties.
We took on Woody’s case and secured a settlement that included provision for future care management and therapy. Although he could no longer renovate properties himself, he still looked forward to finding properties to purchase and manage: the compensation award included a contribution towards the costs of paying for six further properties to be commercially renovated, so that Woody and his wife would be able to continue in their plan to build a portfolio.
We also secured interim payments to fund Woody’s rehabilitation while his claim was ongoing. Even before the settlement was finalised, he was able to access neuropsychology and occupational therapy, and have a case manager to help with his recovery.
He was represented by Carolyn Heaton, an expert Serious Injury lawyer based in Leeds. She said: “Woody has made a positive recovery from what was a serious injury. He’s making significant progress in relation to his difficulties and it is hoped that he and his family can now move on with their lives. He now has funds to pay for the future case management and therapy that he may require and to help him pursue his goals in his property business.”
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