In this case, our client was a 21-year-old apprentice mechanic who was severely injured when the driver of the vehicle at fault, while attempting to turn into a driveway on the opposite end of the road, collided with our client’s motorbike. The driver of the vehicle did not check for incoming traffic before turning, and although our client broke sharply, a collision occurred and our client was thrown under the defendant’s car.
Our client was rendered unconscious for 10 days after the accident and received significant injuries to his shoulders, chest, arms, hips, and knees. He also suffered from a collapsed lung, internal bleeding, nerve damage, and injury to his pancreas and to other internal organs. As a result of the accident, our client developed depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and was no longer able to participate adequately in his active and outgoing pre-accident lifestyle.
In our motorcycle accident claim for compensation, we noted that our client’s enjoyment of life was greatly diminished as a result of his injuries. We submitted in our negotiations with the insurer that our client was off work for 8 months, causing him to lose income and requiring him to spend extra time to finish his apprenticeship. Furthermore, we argued that the domestic care given to the client by his family, including assistance with dressing, showering and driving, ought to be recoverable by the client. We also submitted that the permanent disfigurement and scarring suffered by our client warranted compensation.
Importantly, we argued that our client’s ongoing physical difficulties will prevent him from working to his full capacity. His injuries prevented him from bending, twisting or standing for any extended period of time, compromising his ability to work overtime and his ambitions of opening up his own workshop in the future. Damages for his future economic loss in this regard further added to the payout amount.
After extensive negotiation on our client’s behalf, we successfully settled this matter for a very substantial amount of $700,000, taking into account costs for pain and suffering, economic loss, domestic assistance and past and future treatment. Our client was very pleased with the result, and is looking forward to his life returning to normal.
