Awards for three Claimants injured in road accident in Germany.

Kim Daniells of the CNCI team has recently achieved settlements in three claims arising from a road traffic accident which occurred in Germany. The claims were brought by 3 passengers in a vehicle who suffered injury when it left the carriageway and somersaulted multiple times before coming to rest on its roof. The occupants of the vehicle were returning to their home in England when the accident occurred.

Evidence was obtained from the German authorities in relation to their investigation of the accident and a witness to the incident was identified, traced and interviewed.  Eventually, after entering into correspondence with the Defendant's insurer, liability for the accident was admitted. Although the accident occurred overseas, the provisions of European law enabled claims for the three passengers to be litigated in the Courts of England and Wales.

The First Claimant was a front passenger who suffered multiple injuries including a traumatic brain injury.  As a consequence of the Claimant’s multiple injuries, a number of medical reports were required from different specialisms. This process was complicated by the need to obtain and translate medical records from Germany and, later, the Covid-19 pandemic but, eventually sufficient evidence was available to enable a meaningful assessment of quantum to take place. Following negotiations the Claimant accepted an award in excess of £135,000.00 in settlement of the claim and steps were taken to put a Personal Injury Settlement Trust in place so as to ring-fence the Claimant’s damages for the purposes of any means testing assessment.  

The Second Claimant was just 3 years of age at the time of the accident and was a rear seat passenger in the vehicle. Fortunately  the Second Claimant suffered relatively minor physical injuries although sustained some facial cuts which required stitches.  The residual scarring was found by a plastic surgeon to be permanent but had faded significantly by the time the claim resolved and was not causing the Claimant any distress. Child psychology evidence was obtained which indicated that the incident occurred at a time when the Claimant was very young and prior to the full development of  memory function. In the circumstances it was not felt that there were any significant long term psychological consequences for the Claimant arising from the accident circumstances. An award in excess of  £14,000.00 was approved by the Court in January 2021 and will remain invested until the Second Claimant is 18.

The Third Claimant was another rear seat passenger in the vehicle in which the First and Second Claimants were travelling. This Claimant, a little older than the Second Claimant, largely escaped physical injury in the accident but was deeply traumatised and was subsequently diagnosed as suffering from PTSD.  The Third Claimant had been unable to access psychological counselling through the NHS but a Consultant Child Psychologist recommended a specific course of treatment that would aid recovery. Evidence from the child’s school indicated that the Third Claimant was being very well supported both at home and in an educational setting and the Court approved an award in excess of £17,000.00 which included the cost of the private treatment recommended by the child psychologist.

Speaking of the conclusion of the claims, Kim Daniells said, "the impact of this accident has been devastating for this family. I am pleased that we have been able to reach negotiated conclusions to the claims and that the awards will enable the Claimants to access the treatment they need to continue with their recoveries".