Our team pursued a claim for a 16 year old who had been injured when he was a passenger in a car driven by one of his peers. It transpired the driver had taken the car without permission and was uninsured. The claim was referred to the Motor Insurers Bureau.
The claimant suffered:
- Severe head injury causing frontal lobe contusion i.e. frontal brain damage
- As a result of the head injury there was paresis of the right fourth cranial nerve which led to permanent double vision
- Fracture of his right shoulder
Intensive neuro-rehabilitation produced initial improvement but he was left with the permanent consequences of a frontal lobe brain injury namely poor concentration, personality change, cognitive impairment, low mood and anxiety (ICD-10 Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders for a diagnosis of Organic Personality Disorder).
The cognitive limitation and personality attributes, were linked to frontal lobe damage and dysfunction and as a result, the claimant would never be able to hold down paid employment or live independently. In addition to complex valuation of the likely compensation award for the injury suffered, the team also had to consider the future loss of earnings. The claimant was studying at college, and with the help of an employment consultant, the projected career of the claimant (pre-accident) was plotted, and loss of earnings recovered on that basis. This sum has been invested by the claimant, in an Injury Special Needs Trust, via his parents, to provide an income for the rest of his life.