Man left paralysed in road collision receives £24.5m settlement

The man sustained a spinal cord injury in the incident, in which he was hit by a car, and is now tetraplegic. He requires round-the clock care, and was also diagnosed with PTSD after the life-changing collision in 2021.

Through turning to serious injury specialists at law firm Slater and Gordon, he has been enabled to recover a quality of life through the bespoke package that has now been finalised, and also included the interim payments which have enabled him to rebuild his life over the course of the previous years.

A new property has been found for him, which will be subject to further adaptations to ensure it meets his exact needs. The house also has an outbuilding, which is being converted to create space for the man to carry out previously-loved hobbies.

A bespoke multi-disciplinary team was assembled early into his rehabilitation, including a physiotherapist, clinical psychologist and dietician, each working to his exact needs as a traumatic spinal cord injury survivor. He has also benefited significantly from therapies including hydrotherapy.

The man has been able to have a number of stays at STEPS, a specialist rehabilitation centre in Sheffield, which has seen him make significant advances through its intensive neuro-rehab programmes. His settlement also makes provision for future visits, to ensure he continues to make the maximum possible progress.

While he requires 24/7 care, the settlement allows for him to have two carers round the clock, which enables him to enjoy the best quality of life and reduces the potential for medical complications from spinal cord injury.

Prior to him being injured, the man had booked a holiday-of-a-lifetime to Asia – and as a result of interim payments being received, he was still able to go on the trip, helped by meticulous planning and the support of two carers who accompanied him.

Darren Hughes, a serious injury specialist at Slater and Gordon, acted for the client in securing the settlement, which was finalised in December 2024 following extensive negotiations with motor insurers.

“Our client has suffered an unimaginable ordeal and now lives with paralysis, which of course impacts every aspect of his life – although the courage and determination with which he deals with every day is inspirational indeed,” says Darren, who has represented seriously injured people for almost 20 years.

“This settlement makes provision for his lifelong needs and ensures he will have access to the rehabilitation, therapies, treatment, care and adaptations which will maximise his quality of life. Our ability to secure interim payments has also been very significant, and has enabled him to benefit from interventions from the earliest possible stage.

“We are very pleased to have been by his side since this traumatic incident, fighting on his behalf for several years to secure a positive outcome for him.”

Darren also highlights the benefits of appointing specialist serious injury lawyers in such complex cases, with Slater and Gordon being nationally known for its work in life-changing injury claims.

“The package we have managed to secure for him has made, and will continue to make, a huge difference to his quality of life,” says Darren.

“Through our years of experience of working with people after serious injuries, we are able to quickly instruct the experts who will make such a huge positive difference to their lives and enable the bespoke interventions they need.

“Interim payments are a particularly important factor, and have allowed us to achieve things for our client like 2:1 care from a very early stage, as well as the provision of the highest standards of rehabilitation. We even enabled him to go on an amazing holiday he feared would no longer be possible, showing the lengths we will go to on behalf of our clients and to achieve the best possible quality of life for them after life-changing injury.”