30/11/2017
On 29th November 2017, Stuart McKechnie obtained High Court Approval on a severe traumatic brain injury claim. The Claimant (a protected party), sustained her injuries when she was struck by a vehicle being driven by a drunk driver. The defendant driver was subsequently convicted of Causing Serious Injury by Dangerous Driving and Drink Driving and sentenced to a substantial term of imprisonment. The Claimant has been left with a range of neurocognitive and neuropsychological problems, superimposed on a significant pre-existing history of learning difficulties. This gave rise to complex arguments on causation and quantum. Having made 2 substantial settlement offers in early-mid 2017 (offers that were rejected on Stuart’s advice) the Defendant subsequently made a final offer of £3.8 million and this was accepted on behalf of the Claimant. The settlement was approved at the RCJ on 29th November 2017 by Mr. Justice Martin Spencer, who commended Stuart on the quality of his advice and confirmed that he had no hesitation in approving the settlement and granting an anonymity order for the Claimant.
Stuart was instructed by Nichola Fosler at Stewarts.
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This week Ben Rodgers relays two tales from the coalface, both relating to applications to resile from admissions. Readers will be interested to know that in both cases the court applied the balance of prejudice test with the result that the defendants’ applications were refused….
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