Advice needed - life changing injuries

[BTshun]

I’ve name changed as this is outing.

My sister was involved in a serious road accident last week. She was on her bike and was hit by a truck. Driver tested positive for narcotics at the scene. Unsure at this stage of the insurance status of the driver or what company he works for.
It’s looking likely that her leg will be amputated.
She is a nurse and this will affect her ability to earn a living.

Medically, she’s getting all the help that she requires but I want to make sure she gets all the financial help she needs. Anyone know if she needs to hire legal counsel? My sister won’t be able to appoint a traditional solicitor (her income isn’t huge) so does anyone know if a No Win No Fee lawyer is the only option? Or are there any law firms that might take the case on a pro bono basis? I’m not from a legal background so hoping someone might be able to make some recommendations on where to start.

Thank you in advance.

OP you said your DS is in a Nursing Union. This is the link to the RCN personal injury page.

www.rcn.org.uk/Get-Help/Legal-help/Personal-injury I hope you are able to get her a lot of help.

And I completely missed what I wanted to say. Try to use the best lawyers you can. My dsis had a fairly useless firm through insurance and lost her claim. Again, very different circumstances (causation was a disputed element).

I quite like Bro bono as an autocorrect!

OP, my sister was paralysed following a fairly minor shunt (bizarre, unique set of circumstances) so I do understand how stressful this is for you. Look after your sister. But look after you, too.

You are right, apologies

She's already said that they're London based in her second post.

The use of Narcotics and Bro bono suggests that Op isn't based in or referring to an accident in England so advice here may not be much use

38 years ago l was thrown under a moving bus by an ex and left for dead.. l was in a coma for a few months..l was left severely disabled both physically and mentally.
Back then l got legal aid ( Irwin Mitchell).. so not sure these days.. l had a support worker who helped me every step of the way.
The trial took two years and he got life ( he's still in prison now.. never gets parol because he doesn't behave in prison).
Took me 8 years to get compensation.. but l got nearly 3 million pounds.
My body was crushed so much .. mainly my pelvis and internal organs.. l haven't been able to have sex scince.. also I've too many other to list..

I still have different therapy to this day.
Luckily l can now pay private to see anyone whom l need to.
Wishing your sister much love and healing thoughts.

Bear in mind that if the other party is

1. Potentially liable and
2. Insured

Their insurers will be very very keen to make sure she is back at work - if possible as soon as possible which includes paying for her to go privately as it may well reduce their costs in the long term

My tip is to record on a spreadsheet all additional expenses - anything at all, including mileage.

Just be aware that if NHS are paying her they will likely expect that money back at a later date so this might need to be part of her claim.

Thank you all for your compassionate and helpful responses. it was been a really tough few days but luckily she has a strong support network of family and friends around her.

To answer a few questions, we are London based.

Sadly, there have been very few witnesses; it transpires that the area in which it occurred is one where people don't "trust" the police, so no witness would provide a statement to the police. So CCTV will be key. I'm very sad about this because at the scene, people were incredible and so kind.

I have contacted Irwin Mitchell on the numerous recommendations above. They have been very helpful.

She is indeed a member of the nursing union - I'll have her speak to them or see if I can do so on her behalf, that's really helpful information.

Thank you all. She is back in surgery today with orthopaedics and plastics so we don't yet know the outcome. I suspect it will be a while.

I am so sorry to hear about your sister.

Alongside any insurance claims there will of course be a police investigation and possibly a criminal court case.

That's a lot to handle. She is lucky to have you.

Sent a DM

Back on with a bit more information. I was told 2 years for the full settlement, it was 18 months. Interim payments were available before then.
Everything will take a bit longer than you think it will and there will be numerous assessments and meetings.
I had trips to London (to see a QC in his chambers) and Carlisle (to see a judge) Lots of assessments with uninvolved consultants etc.

It will be a very long process and don't settle for the first offer or before it's clear what the impacts are. Irwin Mitchell are indeed very good.

You can get interim payments as PP mentioned. Also do not underestimate the mental impact of being in an accident like that and of losing a limb. Her age will also impact it. All of that needs to be included. She will need adaptations to her home, her car, she may struggle to find work at a similar pay, or struggle to work at all. Include all the impacts of the life changing injury. Do not settle for 33k as mentioned above. I can't say how much you will get but a family member in a very similar set of circumstances got over 350k. It's a very stressful process.

What an awful thing to happen. My grandmother lost her leg in an accident where she was knocked down by a drunken driver in 1959. She had an artificial leg but did nearly die... before I was born.

Treatments and prostheses have come on leaps and bounds in that time. Also it does depend how she is affected depending on other injuries she sustained.

I knew a colleague who had her leg amputated above the knee in her 20s and lives a full life even taking part in a lot of sports she also worked full time in an NHS role so don't despair yet. I know that emotions must be all over the place.

A friend was involved in a nasty accident as a pedestrian. They have unfortunately been left with life changing injuries. They received a significant pay out about a year after the injury.

Is she part of a union, the rcn? I would start there. She would be covered under them.

Sorry to hear about your sister's accident. Such a horrible thing to happen. I can't advise on the legal/financial aspect, but when she is well enough to consider returning to work there is a few jobs in nursing she could consider rather the traditional on the ward aspect. Research, phone clinics. HR can advise

Also bear in mind that a week or so is very short term to assess injuries and impact. She might be able to get an interim payout while her treatment plan unfolds. She may yet be able to return to work in longer term, perhaps in a more sedentary role, but only time will tell.

I am so sorry to hear about your sister. I wish her well with her recovery.

if she is UK based,

was your sister a member of British Cycling?membership.britishcycling.org.uk/legal-and-insurance/legal-support

Which country was the accident in?

Yes, I agree with pps. Check home insurance for legal support, contact her union, contact the police who dealt with the accident to put her in touch with victim support so she can claim for criminal injuries compensation. Be careful to check out NWNF companies carefully as some will take a huge chunk of compensation as their fee if they do win. Proceed with caution. I am so sorry. What an awful thing to happen.
Are the police getting witness statements? This is really important and she will need someone to really keep on top of that and keep copies of everything.

Also came her to say irwin Mitchell! I got hit my a taxi while cycling and they sorted my compensation. ( I'm guessing pedal bike rather than motor bike, so your sister doesn't have insurance to claim for her, which is why it feels a bit odd on what to do next). So contact irwin Mitchell or similar, sooner so they can begin to collect all the medical info. She will also get compensation for physiological impact of accident and hopefully for adaptions going forward. Probably going to need an intermediate payment .
The other thing to help her with his contacting her nhs HR. How long has she been a nurse. If she is unable to work she gets sick pay but it depends on on long she has worked for nhs for as to how long she gets this for.
Also further down the line when medically you know what the situation will be she can be medically retired from nhs with payout ans pension. This takes a bit longer and need to wait until there is definitely no way someone can return to work so don't worry about it know, but it might be helpful to know it happens if this looks like worst case.
I'm so sorry for your sister.

The same happened to me 17 years ago. Not amputation but life changing.
I went straight to a no win no fee who was the sister of a family friend.
She was amazing and sorted absolutely everything for me.
I don't want to mention the amount of compensation but it included an element of loss of future earnings.
Grief and loss if a future are all things that need to be handled.
Best of luck to your sister

If she's in a union through work then check with them if they offer free legal advice

Sorry you are in this position. Close friend works in this field and their advice is always the same when asked by others about a claim.

contact
one of the big litigation firms - Leigh Day / Irwin Mitchell explain the circumstances and let them do the rest.

as per others it can take ages for full aftermath to be seen. If a true fault accident and it’s causing immediate hardship /limiting progress interim payments can be agreed in some circumstances to help mitigate costs/impact eg they might fund private physio to help recovery/ pay for additional childcare costs if person injured usually did the childcare and now can’t.

if causation is less clear cut it’s not so easy.

no win no fee should be available.

(and in a case like this a claim is definitely worth doing. Money can’t fix everything but it makes buying assistance a lot easier)