On the day of the accident, our client had boarded a bus at a bus stop. Our client had been making her way up the stairs, when the driver suddenly braked, causing her to fall down the stairs of the bus, which resulted in her sustaining serious injury.
As a result of the accident, our client suffered from a fractured vertebra. Our client was transported to hospital via ambulance.
How we helped our client
We intimated the claim directly to the bus company in question. We advised that we were holding them responsible for our client’s injuries and losses she had sustained as a result of the negligence of their employee, whose acts and omissions they are vicariously liable.
Shortly thereafter, we received correspondence from the claims handlers of the bus company confirming that primary liability for this incident was admitted.
Our client remained in hospital for one month following the accident and was then placed in a back brace for a period of three months.
Due to the nature of our client’s injuries, we instructed rehabilitation, in the form of physiotherapy to assist with her recovery. It was recommended that our client undergo eight sessions of treatment. She also underwent adjuvant massage therapy.
Our client’s social activities she took part in prior to the accident were also affected. She could not go on holiday, do her garden or travel around in her car.
We proceeded to recover a copy of our client’s medical records and arranged to have her examined by a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon for the purposes of a medical report to comment upon our client’s injuries sustained as a result of the incident and her future recovery and prognosis.
The medical expert confirmed that our client sustained a significant direct impact injury to her thoracic spine. The expert did confirm that our client could continue to experience an ongoing ache in her thoracic spine where the fracture was located. The expert recommended a course of pilates along with the continued physiotherapy treatment. The expert envisaged that our client’s symptoms would resolve around 18 months post-accident.
Due to the traumatic nature of the accident, our client also suffered from travel-related anxiety and impaired confidence.
We felt that due to these ongoing psychological issues, it would be best to have her examined by a Consultant Psychiatrist for the purposes of a medico-legal report. Our client attended an examination and following upon receipt of the report, the expert commented that following the accident, our client developed symptoms of Adjustment Disorder with mood/irritability symptoms. The expert recommended that our client attend for CBT treatment, and with these sessions, her symptoms should resolve within three months of commencement of treatment.
Following upon completion of our client’s physiotherapy treatment, she continued to experience pain and was taking painkillers daily. We had our client examined further by the Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon. He produced a second report and confirmed that she is more than likely to always suffer from a degree of back pain as a result of the accident, and the accident had accelerated the natural ageing process relating to pain in that region by around 3-5 years.
Once all the medical report had been received and approved by our client, we proceeded to forward the report to the third party insurers along with details of services provided to our client and out of pocket expenses. Our client was retired at the time of the accident, so no loss of earnings had been sustained.
The third party insurers initially made an offer of settlement, which was on the low side. We returned to request an increase. The third party insurers agreed to our request, and the case was settled at £49,5000.
