Our legal work brings us into contact with many people whose lives have been forever changed by injury – with the most serious usually suffered in accidents on the roads or when at work.
We often meet people when they are feeling at their lowest point, when they and their loved ones are still coming to terms with the injuries suffered.
They are reflecting on the difficulties and struggles ahead, and often wondering how they will adapt and cope, and what help, if any, they’ll receive.
They can be worrying times for those injured and those around them, and helping ease those worries – be they physical, psychological or financial (or even all three), and point the way to a more positive future, is a major part of our job.
Throughout 2019, we have been proud and privileged to represent some truly inspirational people, of all ages.
We’ve helped many take some significant steps towards recovery, whilst also securing a number of six and seven figure damages settlements to compensate them financially for their loss.
At Hudgell, we truly believe it is our commitment and ability to ensuring extensive rehabilitation packages are provided from the earliest possible stage that sets our work apart.
We make it our priority to quickly understand and identify the key personal goals and needs of those we represent, and seek to negotiate with defendant insurers and their legal representatives to establish a relationship where agreements can quickly be reached to secure funding for rehabilitation which can assist a return to independent living.
Our cases this year have reflected this this approach.
Paralysed father benefiting from move into specially adapted bungalow
We currently support 54-year-old Svilen Mihov, who was left paralysed after suffering a broken spine when the bus he was a passenger in was involved in a motorway accident last October.
He was airlifted to hospital where he needed blood draining from his chest, having also suffered two broken ribs, a collapsed lung, liver damage, a ruptured spleen and blood vessel tears. He was in intensive care for three weeks and spent months in specialist spinal units.
Our support has ensured he has benefitted from physiotherapy and occupational therapy, as well as helping make it possible for he and his family to move from their unsuitable flat to a new rented dormer bungalow.
This has been specially adapted to ensure there is more space to accommodate his wheelchair and provide space for his family and rehabilitation team to support him going forward.
Mr Mihov, who was able to fly home to Bulgaria for his daughter’s wedding in August, said: “I never expected was the amount of support and help we have been given as a family. It has been amazing and I can’t thank people enough. I am feeling positive again, and also very grateful for what has been done for me to help me get to the stage I am at today.”
From induced coma to regaining independence
Our support to Mr Milov and his family will continue in 2020, as it will for Angela Menzies, of West Yorkshire, who continues to make pleasing progress in her recovery, having suffered extensive multiple orthopaedic fractures, and injured many major internal organs, in a head-on car crash three years ago.
Having undergone many operations, Angela has made major strides in 2019, beginning to enjoy her independence again thanks to a complete package of support provided as a result of our legal representation.
An early agreement from insurers to fully fund all Angela’s rehabilitation costs was key, as was the appointment of a specialist Case Manager.
An extensive package of physical, psychological and financial support has been provided, whilst an interim £200,000 damages payment earlier this year enabled Angela and her husband to purchase a bungalow, in which extensive adaptions have given her full independence.
Angela, who is now driving again and building up her walking distance, said: “I can’t thank Hudgell Solicitors enough. I see so many people in hospital who have suffered similar serious injuries and they have had nowhere near the same level of support and help I have had through Hudgells. It has been tremendous.”
Providing lifelong care provided by £7.5m settlement for seriously brain injured man
Many accidents sadly result in the injured person being incapable of looking after themselves ever again, and in such cases it is imperative that dedicated lifelong support be secured.
That was the case for a client this year who received a £7.5m damages settlement – approved by the High Court – which will now be managed by a professional deputy to ensure it is spent appropriately.
The settlement will cover the costs for dedicated care professionals to support him for the rest of his life, enabling him to live as independently as possible in his own home.
It was a settlement which brought great relief to our client’s father, who said: “Our son has needed dedicated specialists around him to ensure he has all the help he needs. When we are no longer here for him he’ll need more external support and help than ever. Now we know he’ll have that. It is a huge relief and weight off our minds.”
Supporting people who suffer injury and financial loss after accidents at work
Our work in assisting those who suffer serious accidents at work has again brought some rewarding results in 2019, with our legal expertise proving vital in securing out of court settlements for clients.
Our expertise was key when securing a substantial damages settlement for a 40-year-old man who developed chronic regional pain syndrome and is now wheelchair bound, as the defendants denied being responsible for his long-term injury, despite accepting responsibility for the accident itself.
We also secured a six-figure settlement for an 18-year-old engineer who lost his right eye after an accident installing cabling, on the basis he had not been appropriately trained, nor given the correct protective equipment to cover his eyes when working.
Claims relating to serious injuries suffered at work will continue to form a large part of our caseload in 2020.
It will see our representation of a client who suffered a number of fractures and the amputation of his left arm from the shoulder joint continue, after he was injured in an explosion when fitting a tyre on a crane, and for numerous other clients who have also suffered major injuries as the result of health and safety at work breaches.
