Drunk Driver Accident – Compensation for Serious Injuries

Barratts was recommended to Mick when suffered serious and life-threatening injuries after he was hit in a drunk driver accident. He initially contacted an extremely experienced personal injury lawyer in Manchester who was unable to take on Mick’s case. However, the lawyer advised Mick to contact us.

In short, Mick had called in at his local pub on his way back from work. Having had a couple of drinks, he decided to leave his car in the car park and take a taxi home – two or three miles away. He called a number of taxi firms but no-one was able to accommodate him. Accordingly Mick decided to walk home and his route took him along an unlit country road. After about a quarter of a mile, he was hit by a car travelling in the same direction. Mick was catapulted into the hedge at the side of the road. He sustained a moderate / severe brain injury and broken limbs. The driver of the vehicle accepted responsibility for the accident and was convicted of drink driving.

The impact of drunk driver accident injuries

As Mick lived alone, we needed to get a prompt assessment of his case. We knew that his injuries were so extensive that he would require 24-hour care and support and this would need to be paid for. In fact, Mick required this level of care for the first five months following his discharge from hospital.

Once we knew Mick was coming to the end of his hospital stay, we immediately contacted the driver’s insurers. Our team persuaded them to undertake an urgent assessment of his needs. They undertook this within a matter of days. We also managed to persuade the insurers to fund nursing care. This supported Mick for the six months following his injury. However, Mick was unable to return to his employment as a social worker. As a result the accident caused him very considerable financial difficulties. He suffered an ongoing loss of earnings which significantly effected his lifestyle.

Agreeing compensation

We obtained expert evidence into the nature and extent of Mick’s injuries. The report also considered the effect these would have on Mick for the rest of his life. We prepared a detailed schedule of his losses and on Mick’s instructions we made a very early offer to the driver’s insurers to settle the case without further legal costs being incurred, or Court proceedings being commenced. After lengthy discussions with the insurers we were able to convince them to accept our offer and we were therefore able to settle Mick’s case within eighteen months of his accident – providing him sufficient funds to last him for the rest of his life.