Lawyers Help Champion Yorkshire's Inspirational Youngsters

Courageous children and young adults from across Yorkshire have been honoured for their bravery at an inspiring awards ceremony which also raised thousands of pounds for children’s charities in the region.

The Yorkshire Children of Courage and Achievement Awards, held this month at Elland Road in Leeds, champion youngsters who have been brave in the face of adversity and shown their dedication to caring for family members.

Among the inspiring winners was Oscar Bates-Teixeira, 13, from Leeds, who was rewarded with a Special Recognition Award at the event. Oscar was born a healthy and happy baby but sadly was diagnosed with cancer aged two. He underwent chemotherapy and surgery and because of further complications required part of his bowel removing. Oscar managed to fight off cancer but suffered severe brain injuries during the post operative care leaving him with learning difficulties and paralysed down his left side.

Oscar now needs 24-hour care and rehabilitation for life and this year Irwin Mitchell’s expert medical law team secured him a £2.5 million lump sum settlement plus further funds for annual care to help him access specialist support and to cover the costs of adaptations to his home and equipment to improve his quality of life. The settlement funds are now carefully managed by Irwin Mitchell’s specialist Court of Protection team to ensure it provides his future care for the rest of his life.

Joanne Fraser, from the Court of Protection team at Irwin Mitchell’s Leeds office which sponsored an award at the event, said: “The Yorkshire Children of Courage and Achievement Awards truly are an inspiration and a great way of honouring youngsters who have battled serious injuries or illnesses or who have shown their dedication to raising money for charity and caring for their loves ones.

“At Irwin Mitchell we meet a lot of children like Oscar who have suffered serious injuries but show tremendous strength in their recovery and rehabilitation. The awards night is a great opportunity to share our admiration for how brave the children are and our appreciation for all the people who help improve the quality of life for people who have suffered injuries which is why we sponsored the Young Carer of the Year Award.”

Oscar’s mother Lynn Bates said: “We were incredibly proud that Oscar was nominated for this award and for him to receive public recognition is just fantastic and a real boost for all the family.”

Jane Horton, a specialist serious injury lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, said: “The people we help have often had their lives turned upside down as a result of suffering a serious injury. The impact of brain and spinal injuries can be utterly devastating for the victims and their families and are almost always life-changing.

“Our clients show remarkable strength, determination and will power to come to terms with the injuries they have suffered and often need long-term care and support to help them rebuild their lives and achieve the best possible quality of life in the long-term. That’s why it is great to be able to recognise their positive attitudes at the Yorkshire Children of Courage and Achievement awards.”

Also on the night, Thomas Connors received the Irwin Mitchell-sponsored Young Carer of the Year Award after caring for his mum. Thomas has experienced many difficulties throughout his childhood and without complaining has taken on a very significant role in caring for his mum. Thomas is caring and kind and always puts others needs before his own. His most recent achievement was completing his own appeal for high school. His mum describes him as her rock.

The full list of winners can be found at www.yorkshirechildren.co.uk.