Minster Law secures £85,000 in rehabilitation for 73-year-old road victim

Minster Law has helped a 73-year-old woman, who suffered life-changing injuries as she leant into her stationary vehicle to pick something up, gain access to £85,000 worth of rehabilitation.

In October 2020 Mrs Carter was driving her Toyota Yaris along the motorway in Sutton Coldfield when she pulled over to dispose of an item in her passenger footwell.

The road is a dual carriageway with two lanes in each direction, with a grass verge in the middle.

She stopped just before a bus stop where there was a bin and no restrictions on parking.

She turned the engine off and walked around to the passenger side, leaning in to pick up the item when a silver Mercedes collided, at speed, with the rear of her vehicle.

The collision came with such force that the bus stop was demolished in the impact.

She suffered from a small volume traumatic subarachnoid haemorrhage, left nasal bone fracture with some facial and submandibular haematoma, right rib fractures, a small right pneumothorax, a right scapula fracture, a spinal T10 fracture at the anterior superior corner with endplate depression and compression fracture of the T11, a non-displaced L2-4 transverse lumbar fracture, subcutaneous haematoma to the left side of the upper neck, dental and psychological injuries.

In the year which followed her accident, she underwent extensive rehabilitation, including a stay in a private residential rehabilitation facility between her discharge from the hospital and return home.

Her treatment there included extensive physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, dental and psychological treatment.

The total amount spent on private rehabilitation and case management post-accident was approximately £85,000, and this enabled her to achieve her optimal recovery in as short a time as possible.

Her £129,360 settlement contains provisions for her to pay for ongoing care and assistance for her lifetime, any potential future medical treatments as well as funding for gardening or DIY.

Her son said Associate Solicitors Rebecca Waller and John Gibney were absolutely brilliant throughout his mother’s case.

“Every step of the way they fought to get her the specialist care she needed, when dead ends were met due to Covid they bent over backwards to find another way. Mum will never make a full recovery, but I dread to think where we would be without these wonderful people.

“Their professionalism, empathy and knowledge were second to none, often working outside of normal hours to facilitate meetings or push to get the next level of care signed off.

“Thanks, seems such weak words in these circumstances!”