Boyes Turner’s personal injury lawyers have secured a settlement for Michael, a cyclist who was injured when he was knocked off his bike and suffered a mild traumatic brain injury, a fractured finger, an impingement injury to his shoulder and facial scarring.
The Accident
Michael was cycling along Reading Road in Wokingham. A car approached from the opposite direction, on the other side of the road. The driver wanted to turn right, into a side road and suddenly and without warning turned across Michael’s path. He was unable to avoid a collision and was knocked off his bike.
He suffered concussion, lacerations to his chin and mouth, a fracture to his left little finger, an impingement injury to his shoulder, soft tissue injuries to his left knee and left wrist and travel anxiety.
Making a claim and out-of-court settlement
We helped Michael pursue a claim for compensation for his injuries against the other driver.
We arranged medical examinations for him and it became apparent that the head injury was not simply a case of concussion that would resolve within a few weeks. Even over a year after the accident, he noticed that he was suffering from headaches, vestibular problems, mood swings and mild cognitive difficulties. While he had not previously been diagnosed with a head injury, we arranged an examination with a Neurologist who concluded that he had sustained a mild traumatic brain injury.
Thankfully he was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, or his head injuries may have been significantly worse. When bringing a claim for a head injury in these circumstances, a court would be likely to decide that a cyclist not wearing a helmet was negligent and that this contributed to the injuries that they suffered. This is known as ‘contributory negligence’ and can lead to a reduction in the amount of compensation payable to the injured party.
His psychological symptoms also persisted. We arranged an examination with a psychologist who diagnosed a Specific Phobia and recommended that he have some sessions of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
The lacerations to Michael’s chin and mouth left some minor scarring. We arranged an examination with a Plastic Surgeon who stated that the scarring is likely to be permanent.
Once we had gathered all of the medical evidence and proof of our client’s financial losses, we began settlement negotiations with the Defendant’s Solicitors. They eventually settled the claim out of court for more than four times their first offer.
While the accident was a traumatic experience for Michael, he was pleased with the outcome of the claim and made the following comments about the service he received from Boyes Turner:
Thank you for all your hard work on this, I couldn’t have wished for a better result.
If you have suffered a head injury as a result of someone else’s negligence, you can talk to one of our lawyers, free and confidentially, by contacting us here.
