Man left disabled after being attacked and suffering a stroke

Paul was 52 when he suffered head injuries as a result of an unprovoked assault outside a working men’s club.

A CICA application was made for his injuries but three years later, whilst the matter was being considered, Paul suffered orthopaedic injuries to his leg when he was knocked down by a vehicle whilst standing on a pavement.

At the date of the road accident, Paul was largely independent in everyday living and had made a relatively good recovery from his head injury.

However, during the operation to treat the injury to his leg, Paul suffered a major stroke which left him profoundly disabled.

As a result of the stroke, Paul suffered from severely impaired mobility, right-sided visual impairment and major cognitive and behavioural problems.

The stroke left him incapable of managing his own affairs and required 24 hour care from a professional care regime. A claim was made against the driver of the vehicle for the additional injuries and the stroke.

Initially, the driver’s insurers rejected the claim on the basis that the vehicle was not insured as it was on private property and the driver was a under-age.

However, the insurers were eventually persuaded to accept full liability for the incident and pay for compensation.

Paul’s case involved very complex issues regarding the disabilities from the assault and those arising from the stroke.

Eventually, the claim again the driver of the motor vehicle was compromised shortly before trail for a gross figure of £4 million which was converted into Periodical Payments Order of £135,000 per year and a lump sum of £2.15 million.

The CICA application was then considered and resulted in a further award of £258,810.00.

Due to the client’s lack of capacity to manage his financial affairs, a professional Deputy from the Court of Protection Department at Potter Rees Dolan was appointed.

Keith Kushner acted for Paul and commented:

There were particular complications arising from the stroke issue as it was contended at one stage that even had the stroke not occurred during surgery, the client would have been susceptible to a stroke in any event during the course of his normal life expectancy.

Evidence was therefore obtained by both sides from eminent stroke experts to deal with this aspect and the settlement reflected the fact that the natural risk of stroke in the future was relatively small.