Takeover case valued by previous solicitor at £10,000 settles for £277,000
Charlotte Thorpe recently settled a claim on behalf of a 31-year-old dentist who was hit head on by a car while riding his bicycle in Bow, East London, in May 2020. Liability was admitted by the driver's insurers.
The Claimant came to Fieldfisher over a year post-accident, dissatisfied with his previous solicitors who were slow to progress his case and who had issued the claim in the fast track small-claims portal with a value of £10,000.
The Claimant sustained a serious injury to his acromio-clavicular joint (ACJ), which stabilises the collarbone and shoulder. The Claimant's recovery plateaued during the months following the accident, and the injury continued to cause him extreme pain, affecting his daily activities. In particular, his work as a dentist with a special interest in oral surgery was severely limited. The Claimant underwent surgery twelve months post-accident. Despite the surgery going well, the Claimant developed a severe infection and stayed in hospital for four days to be treated with antibiotics. Unfortunately, the injury still did not heal properly, and he had to undergo further surgery two weeks later to wash out the infection.
The Claimant is now almost five years post accident and still suffers from pain every day which restricts the days he can manage to work at full capacity and, as such, has a negative impact on his earnings.
Fieldfisher took over the case and obtained medical evidence regarding the Claimant's acromio-clavicular joint injury, as well as evidence regarding the unsightly scarring and his psychiatric injury. The evidence obtained by the Claimant's previous solicitors was insufficient to fully understand the injuries and prognosis. The medical evidence obtained by Fieldfisher supported the Claimant's case that his recovery, despite surgery, had plateaued and he had a less than favourable outcome. The Claimant's case was that the pain he experienced in his shoulder daily impacted on his ability to work. In his role as a dentist with a special interest in oral surgery, the demands of the job were to carry out tooth extractions all day. As a result of his shoulder pain, he could no longer manage this on consecutive days and as such he was having to work alternate days in oral surgery, with a day of general dentistry in between. This resulted in a loss of earnings. The Claimant's medical evidence was that the Claimant had achieved his full recovery and therefore is not going to see any further improvement. Given his age, and the fact he has his working life ahead of him, this will result in a significant future loss of earnings for him throughout his life. Additionally, the loss of earnings will result in a loss of pension.
The extent of the Claimant's ongoing daily limitations was heavily contested between the parties, as was the claim for the future loss of earnings and future loss of pension. The Defendant did not accept the Claimant's evidence that he is still in pain and unable to work consecutive days. Their position was the Claimant should be able to work consecutive days carrying out tooth extractions, based upon the evidence of their orthopaedic expert, and therefore there was no loss. They also did not accept the Claimant's evidence regarding his "but for" earnings. As he was self-employed, his earnings varied month to month. Charlotte obtained detailed witness statements from four of the Claimant's colleagues, supporting his evidence that the work the Claimant does is physically intensive and would be very difficult if not impossible with a shoulder injury. The statements also supported the Claimant's ambitious and hard-working personality, and his pre-accident intention to work consecutive days in oral surgery.
The case was fought almost all the way to trial and settled just 3 days before a quantum trial for a sum of £277,000. Counsel on the case was Cressida Mawdesley-Thomas at 12 King's Bench Walk.
Upon conclusion of the case, the Claimant said: "Charlotte was attentive, perceptive and above all else, she was dedicated, I felt like her only client. I had unequivocal confidence in Charlotte as my solicitor and I would recommend herself and Fieldfisher to anyone looking for strong and knowledgeable legal representation."
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