Our client was a 41 year old rear seat
passenger in a car that ran into the back of a lorry on the 6th
February 2004.
As a result, he suffered a fracture to his
right hip for which he underwent surgical reconstruction later that
month. By June 2004, our client had made satisfactory progress and
was mobilising without aids, was in no real pain and was keen to
return to work.
By July 2004, his GP assessed him as fit to
work. We instructed an independent Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon
to examine our client and confirm what injuries had been sustained
and how they had been caused.
This expert stated that our client was at risk
of degenerative changes in his hip and at this stage, it was not
clear whether those degenerative changes would manifest within 2
years of the accident which would require our client to have a hip
replacement within 5 years of the accident or whether his
degenerative changes were such that he would not require a hip
replacement for 15 to 20 years.
We therefore had to wait until 2 years after
the accident (eg February 2006) to ascertain which group our client
would fall into.
In October 2004, our client had a fall down
the stairs which precipitated an increase in hip pain and bought on
back pain which he had suffered from in the past, prior to the
accident.
An updated report was obtained from the
Orthopaedic expert 2 years after the accident date who confirmed
that our client fell into the category of degenerative change in
his hip in 15 to 20 years time.
We also asked the expert to consider whether
the fall down the stairs was due to instability in the hip and
therefore was unlikely to have occurred if the accident had not
happened but the expert felt it was unlikely.
On the basis of this report, future surgical
costs and treatment were claimed on a private basis in addition to
the claim for the injuries sustained. Our client also claimed for
the care and assistance he would require from friends and family
members for tasks he was unable to do whilst recovering from his
injury.
Our client's claim subsequently settled for
£45,000 on a full and final basis.