Motorcyclist in £3 Million Settlement After Collision Leads to Double Amputation

LONDON, June 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

A young motorcyclist who had his leg and the lower half of his arm amputated after he was hit by a drunk driver, has settled his motorbike accident claim for £3,000,000.

Martin James, a specialist serious injuries lawyer with Fentons Personal Injury Solicitors LLP, said that the man had no recollection of the horrific incident that changed his life. "My client had been working as a chef, and although he knows that he finished some time around 4pm, he does not even remember getting onto his motorcycle when he left work," said Martin.

"But he did ride his bike, and as he made his way home another motorist - who was later imprisoned for drink driving and other offences - tried to overtake a vehicle whilst travelling in the opposite direction to my client. He crossed lanes onto the wrong side of the road - into oncoming traffic - and collided head on with the motorbike."

Martin said his client suffered such severe injuries that when his family arrived at the scene, they feared the worst. "His first memory after the incident is waking up in the hospital, with a ventilator helping him to breathe," said Martin. "He didn't know at the time, but that was a full 10 days after the incident."

Martin explained that due to the severity of the injuries, the young chef had undergone an above the knee amputation and a below the elbow arm amputation.

"This was obviously a horrific ordeal for my client," said Martin. "After he regained consciousness he spent more then six months in hospital, undergoing various graft operations and surgical procedures, before beginning a programme of rehabilitation.

"As well as the injuries that led to the amputation surgery, he had sustained a serious shoulder injury which, despite further operations, left him with numbness and a lack of feeling in his arm. He suffered phantom pains - a crushing sensation - where his leg and arm had been amputated, and although he maintained a positive, 'lucky to be alive' outlook, he struggled to get to sleep and suffered nightmares."

Martin said that when his client, who was in his 20s at the time of the accident, was eventually discharged from hospital, it soon became apparent that his current home would no longer be suitable for him given his new circumstances.

"Following the driver's criminal conviction there was no issue with regard the defendant insurer's liability," he said. "Because of the significance of my client's injuries, we were also able to petition the court and secure interim payments totalling more than £300,000 in order to help fund the various care and support packages he needed to help with his recovery - including specialist rehabilitation and bespoke prosthetics," said Martin. "We also began the process of finding and purchasing a new, more suitable home."

After lengthy negotiations, Martin settled his client's claim out of court in the gross sum of £3,000,000. "The large settlement took into account not only the pain and suffering he endured as a result of his injury, but also his past and future lost earnings and all the case management and care costs he would likely face in the future," said Martin.

"We had factored in the cost of bespoke prostheses, accommodation and also periodical payments - whereby he will receive regular payments throughout his lifetime, helping him live independently and manage his own affairs.

"This incident was caused through no fault of his own, and yet his life has been irrevocably transformed by the injuries he sustained," said Martin. "Hopefully the settlement will enable him to rebuild his life, allowing him to concentrate on his recovery safe in the knowledge that he will be able to meet all of his future financial needs."

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