Hodge Jones & Allen recently achieved a
£3.1 million settlement in Cauthery v Kan, a long-running head
injury case.
In June 1996, Imogen Cauthery, who was nine at
the time, was struck by the wing mirror of a car as she waited to
cross the road. As a result, she now suffers from learning
difficulties, intractable epilepsy and significant memory
impairment.
The insurers initially accepted liability, but
withdrew it in 2002, alleging that Imogen and her mother were
partly to blame for the accident. However, after we applied for a
summary judgement, the court struck out the defence and entered
judgement for our client.
The hearing to determine the damages was
adjourned for five years to establish the long-term prognosis for
Imogen's condition. It was fixed for 11 June 2007, but the case
settled before trial for £3.1 million, including £1.8 million for
future costs and £755,000 for loss of earnings.
Patrick Allen, the lead partner in Cauthery v
Kan and senior partner of Hodge Jones & Allen, said:
"This was a particularly complex case, partly because of
the legal issues surrounding the insurer's initial acceptance of
liability. In addition, we had to marshal evidence from over 15
experts and factual statements from 35 witnesses in order to
convince the insurers to accept our view of Imogen's needs and
likely loss of earnings."
He added: "It's pleasing to have
negotiated such a large settlement. Imogen was a bright
nine-year-old, from a high achieving family, who was doing well at
school. She now suffers distressing epileptic episodes and will
never attain anything like her full potential. Her family has been
immensely supportive, but this settlement will go a long way
towards helping them maintain her quality of life."
Imogen agreed that this settlement would make
a big difference to her: "I think it will make life much less
challenging now. I have less potential because of my accident, and
I will never be able to work full time, so this is a huge
relief."
Her father, Roger Cauthery, added that the
recognition of what she had suffered was also important to her:
"The fact that people have taken notice is psychologically
important for her; she's been much more upbeat since the award came
through."
Negotiating the settlement took Allen and his
team considerable effort and included, for example, contacting
Imogen's former classmates to build a picture of what they had done
since 1996, and therefore what sort of lifestyle she could have
expected to achieve.
Paying tribute to the team, Roger Cauthery
said: "Patrick was determined to see it through to the end. He kept
reminding us that we had to continue the fight until we were sure
it was right for Imogen, and then had the knowledge and experience
to wear down the defendant to the point that they were keen to
settle."
He added: "My first impression of Hodge, Jones
& Allen was that they try to look after all conditions of men,
and that's still my impression of them - they've always offered a
human face throughout the ghastly process of dealing with these
things."