Our client, Sarah* (name change for privacy reasons), was involved in a motorway road traffic collision in December 2021 when a lorry knocked her vehicle into the path of another vehicle.
Sarah suffered a severe traumatic brain injury and numerous significant orthopaedic injuries, including a fractured pelvis, femur, spine, and ribs. She was in hospital for over four months, and then in residential rehabilitation for a further four months, before being discharged home.
Life at home
At the time the collision occurred, Sarah was living with her partner and her 16-month-old son and working full time in a role she very much enjoyed. Sarah’s son, who was involved in the crash but was happily uninjured, has additional needs due to autism. For Sarah, her son’s needs were, and remain, her top priority.
Sarah’s relationship with her partner sadly came to an end due to the impact of her brain injury. In addition to her physical challenges, Sarah was suffering with considerable difficulties with her memory, behaviour, decision-making, and fatigue. There was therefore a pressing need to introduce professional support for Sarah, for her and in her role as a mother.
Despite the circumstances of the collision, the Defendant’s solicitors did not admit liability and High Court Proceedings were therefore issued. Subsequent to the issue of Proceedings, the Defendants formally admitted liability and Judgement was entered for our client on a 100% basis.
Interim payments
Interim payments were secured to fund Sarah’s rehabilitation from an early stage. The treating team and Case Manager worked hard to help Sarah in accepting the need for support, which was central to progressing her rehabilitation and enhancing her independence, but was very difficult for her to accept. Sarah benefited from exceptional support from her speech and language therapist in overcoming the difficulties presented by her cognitive communication disorder, part of her brain injury, particularly in supporting liaison with her son’s education services as he began school last year. Interim payments totalling £737,174.39 were recovered during the course of the litigation to fund the rehabilitation process.
Alongside the rehabilitation process, the litigation progressed with the Court granting leave to rely upon experts in some nine disciplines, namely neurology, neuropsychology, neuropsychiatry, orthopaedics, neurorehabilitation, urology, gynaecology, speech and language therapy, and care and occupational therapy, over the course of two Case Management Conferences in 2023 and 2024.
Settlement
Once the expert evidence was at an advanced stage, we engaged in settlement discussions with the Defendant’s team. A Trial was listed for January 2027 but there was sufficient clarity from the expert reports and from the knowledge gained from the treating team to properly assess Sarah’s long-term needs and therefore to value her Claim.
A Joint Settlement Meeting took place in December 2025 and a settlement on a lump sum basis at £6 million was agreed, which was approved by the Court in January 2026. Chris Melton KC was instructed throughout as Leading Counsel.
Jeanne Evans, Partner in our Serious Injury team said: “Sarah suffered life-changing injuries on the day this collision occurred. Despite the many challenges which this presents her with, she has made incredible progress and is now in a happy new relationship, and with a supportive family around her. She is an extremely resilient young woman who should be very proud of the progress she has made, and I am delighted that the settlement achieved will allow Sarah to live a fulfilling life and to be supported in her role as a mother, which is her priority.”
