A postman has been awarded £35,000 compensation thanks to JMW after he was left with severe facial injuries following a collision with a car.

The claim

Mr B, a postman, was knocked off his bike whilst travelling home. Mr B was cycling along a one way street when, as he came to the end of a junction, another cyclist emerged off the pavement and drove into him, knocking him off his bike. Mr B landed on his face, and suffered deep cuts that needed to be stitched and resulted in scarring, as well as whiplash injuries to his neck. Mr B’s bike was also badly damaged. He decided to make a claim and was put in touch with JMW Solicitors.

The case

We quickly got to work on the case, sending a letter of claim to the other cyclist, the defendant in the case. They forwarded the letter on to their insurer, who admitted responsibility for the case.

We also asked two independent medical experts to take a look at Mr B; a consultant orthopaedic surgeon for his whiplash injuries, and a consultant plastic surgeon for the facial injuries. These experts would provide independent reports which could used to support his case. She also got an estimate for the cost of the repairs Mr B’s bike would need, so that he could get back on the road as soon as possible. The defendant’s insurance company then forwarded a cheque for the repairs on.

Mr B was struggling to come to terms with the scars on his face and felt very self-conscious about them. He felt more discomfort in the cold weather, which was preventing him doing his job properly. He also struggled to sleep at night, which in turn put a strain on his marriage.

Medical reports

The report from the consultant plastic surgeon highlighted that Mr B had suffered scarring around his left eye, with one scar below his left eye being particularly visible; it also backed up what Mr B had told us about them causing him discomfort. The consultant confirmed that the discomfort was as a result of nerve damage and would not improve. He also suggested that the scars wouldn’t benefit from revision surgery; a huge blow to Mr B.

The consultant orthopaedic surgeon also confirmed that, although Mr B had undergone some physiotherapy for his neck injuries, he was still struggling with some pain. Although his facial and neck injuries would improve over a 12-18 month period, the consultant orthopaedic surgeon advised Mr B visit a pain management expert to assist him managing his pain symptoms, as well as a psychologist, to assist him with depressive symptoms he reported feeling.

After visiting an independent consultant psychologist, Mr B was told that he was suffering from an adjustment order with anxiety and depression symptoms. Mr B was referred for CBT sessions and to a consultant neuro-psychologist. The pain expert, meanwhile, suggested a trial with a TENS machine, cervical facet joint injections and anti-neuropathic medication, all aimed at reducing Mr B’s pain.

Financial losses

Meanwhile, we asked Mr B to provide her with information about the financial losses he had suffered because of his accident, such as lost earnings and loss of overtime, which remained a problem for Mr B indefinitely. The nature of the overtime that would have been available to Mr B was variable, so we asked a forensic accountant to provide an overview as to what a rightful loss of overtime claim may be. This information would help us to determine what an appropriate and fair amount of overall compensation for Mr B should be.

Mr B was struggling to afford to attend the CBT sessions, as he was losing out on wages every time he attended them. We asked the defendant’s insurer for an interim payment to assist Mr B, who provided it after some deliberation.

Final settlement

As Mr B’s claim had reached a stage where legally, it either needed to be settled or involved in the Court process, we issued Court proceedings on the case. We started to arrange for Mr B’s medical evidence to be updated, however, during this process, the defendant’s representatives chose to make Mr B an offer to settle the case.

Mr B was advised very carefully about the offer; clearly, his medical evidence was not yet completed, but yet, the offer was very reasonable. It was Mr B’s decision as to whether or not he rejected the offer and continued the case, or accepted the offer and concluded matters. Mr B chose to accept the offer and conclude the case. He was very thankful for everything JMW Solicitors had done for him and was happy to draw a line under the matter.

The Claims Process