Personal injury client stories

Below are some examples of personal injury cases we have successfully taken on for local people in Broadstairs, Canterbury and Margate.

Slipping accident in Broadstairs

Mrs S. was shopping in a large supermarket in Westwood, Broadstairs. At that time a number of freezer units in the frozen produce section were being defrosted and cleaned and, as a result, goods were not being displayed in their usual place. Mrs. S. walked down the last frozen produce aisle towards the front of the store. In that aisle was a young member of staff who appeared to be working next to one of the empty freezer units.  He had a piece of equipment that looked like a pressure-washer.  As Mrs S. walked down the aisle, looking up towards the ceiling to try to find the sign indicating where the frozen chips were kept, she stepped into a puddle of water lying on the floor and as a result of that her foot slipped forwards causing her to fall backwards on to her left side. 

The company who owned the supermarket admitted liability for her accident.

We obtained a medical report which diagnosed a soft tissue injury to the lower back giving rise to pain which should resolve within 6 months of the date of the medico-legal assessment.  We agreed with Mrs. S to put the case on hold for a period of time to ensure that the prognosis for recovery provided by our medical expert did in fact occur.  Fortunately, it did. Mrs. S. did not want to claim for any financial or out of pocket expenses.

Our medical evidence was disclosed to the solicitors who had been instructed to represent the company. Following negotiations a settlement was agreed whereby Mrs. S. received £3,500 in compensation and the supermarket company also paid her legal costs.

Trip injury in Broadstairs

Mr. P was walking his children to school one morning when he tripped over a metal socket embedded in a pavement in Broadstairs, which was intended to support a bus stop sign which had not yet been installed. The local highway authority had not taken steps to cover the socket with a cone or fence the area off. Mr. P. suffered a twisting injury to his right knee which caused a tear to some of the soft tissues in his knee. He had to have an operation to repair this but was left with residual discomfort in the knee.

The local council concerned denied liability for the accident claiming that a cone had been left over the socket by their contractors and must have been removed by a third party before the accident.

We obtained our own expert medical evidence on the injury suffered by Mr. P. and this led to recommendations for further treatment. He decided against having that treatment in the near future but we claimed the cost of having that treatment on a private basis in the future as part of his claim.

Court proceedings were issued following which the council continued to deny liability. Nevertheless they made a number of low “off the record” offers to settle which were rejected. They instructed their own medical expert who did not agree with some of the opinions expressed by our own medical expert.

The case progressed and was listed for a final trial at Canterbury County Court. We instructed a barrister to advise and represent Mr. P.

However, about 1 month before the trial further discussions and negotiations took place between us and the council’s solicitors and as a result the case was settled out of court for the sum of £20,000. Mr. P’s legal costs were also paid by the council separately.  

Road traffic accident in Margate

Mr. T was driving his car along Shottendene Road approaching its junction with Manston Road.  The cars in front of him braked quite sharply.  He was able to stop in time without there being a collision but a van behind him did not stop in time and the driver braked but skidded into the back of his car.

After the accident Mr. T began to feel pain in his neck and back.

We submitted a claim to the insurers of the van using the internet Claim Portal and liability for the accident was admitted.

We obtained an independent medical report relating to the injuries suffered which concluded that as a result of the accident Mr. T had suffered an aggravation of pre-existing low back pain for a period of 2 months. He had also suffered a whiplash type injury to the neck which had not resolved within the usual 3 month period and an MRI scan of his neck was therefore arranged via his GP. Following this a final medical report was obtained which stated that the MRI scan results showed pre-existing degenerative change in the bones of the neck and that the accident had brought forward the onset of prolonged neck pain due to this degeneration by about 12 months.

Mr. T agreed with this medical opinion and we obtained further instructions from him about his financial losses flowing from the accident. We submitted a Stage 2 Settlement Pack to the insurers of the van via the Claims Portal and following further negotiation the claim was settled for £4,100.

Injury at work in Canterbury

Independent heating contractors were replacing some old radiators at Mr. V’s place of work. As they were working on the radiators one of the water valves they were working on exploded spraying hot water in Mr. V’s direction. As he jumped back and twisted to get out of the way he injured his back. He suffered from low level back pain until about 6 weeks later when he suffered a sudden onset of severe lower back pain due to a prolapsed spinal disc.

We obtained an initial medical expert report which did not link the prolapse of the disc to the accident. This was contrary to what Mr. V had been told by those treating him. We obtained a second expert report which concluded that the prolapse was linked to the accident in that it had accelerated the natural onset of the prolapse by about 3 years.

Liability for the accident was denied by the contractors. We issued court proceedings following which they continued to deny liability and sought to blame the client’s employer. The claimant’s employer was joined into the claim but vigorously denied any liability for the accident. One of the main issues in the case was whether the accident was in fact linked to the prolapse of the disc given the differing opinions expressed by the experts.

We instructed a barrister to advise Mr. V in more detail regarding the complex factual and medical issues in the case.

The contractors’ solicitors made a made a number of low Part 36 offers to settle the claim which were rejected. However following further negotiations it was possible for us to achieve an out of court settlement to the claim at a relative early stage in the court proceedings which resulted in a payment of £6,000 in compensation to Mr. V. The contractors also paid the legal costs incurred by Mr. V’s employers as well as our costs of pursuing the claim for him.

Pavement trip accident in Margate

Mrs. K tripped on a defective pavement in Margate High Street falling forwards and hitting her head on the pavement. 

We submitted a claim on her behalf to the local highway authority who admitted liability for the accident.

Mrs. K suffered an injury to her nose which caused ongoing nasal obstruction and we obtained a medical report from a Consultant ENT surgeon. She also suffered from post traumatic headaches for some considerable time and a report was obtained from a Consultant Neurologist.

We discussed Mrs. K’s financial losses with her in some detail and a schedule of loss was prepared and approved by her. We instructed a barrister on her behalf to advise us on the value of her claim and what compensation she was likely to receive from the court.

Our evidence was then disclosed to the Highway Authority’s insurers and following a period of negotiation an out of court settlement was agreed as a result of which they paid over £11,000 to Mrs. K in compensation and also paid her legal costs of making the claim.