Man thrown from a car suffered a severe head injury

A Polish man was thrown from a Jeep where he was a rear seat passenger and suffered a severe head injury.

59 year old Mikael came to work in the UK as a labourer. He was hoping to earn enough to be able to send money home to his wife and children in his home country of Poland. He was doing well and had found work in the Manchester area.

He was involved in an accident whilst travelling as a rear seat passenger of a Jeep. He was thrown from the car, suffering a severe head injury. The Defendant was not wearing a seatbelt and so the Judge ordered that Mikael's compensation should be reduced by 25%.

Mikael returned to Poland quite soon after his accident to be with his family. Potter Rees Dolan continued to fight his case on his behalf and we travelled a number of times to see Mikael abroad.

Poland does not have a care regime as in the UK and so Mikael was reliant very much on his family for all his care needs. This was a real strain and a worry for them as they had very limited means and resources to be able help him. Mikael had difficulty processing information, was impulsive and found it hard to work things through properly.

We argued that Mikael needed a proper care package and that he did not have capacity to deal with his affairs himself. We were able to settle his claim using English experts' evidence and as a result were able to secure much higher compensation for him to be able to appoint a Deputy, to buy a house in Poland to be with his family and to receive the professional care that he needs.

Hugh Potter acted for Mikael and commented:

Mikael's case shows clearly that the English court are there to be used by EC National who come to England to work but unhappily are injured by others. Mikael received substantial compensation assessed by English experts and despite him moving back to Poland shortly after his accident.