If you have suffered injury as a result of negligence, any delay in seeing a lawyer is only likely to increase your own and your loved ones’ suffering. In one striking case, a mother cared selflessly for her disabled daughter for decades before going to solicitors – who swiftly won her more than £3 million in compensation.
The daughter had been born seriously brain damaged and was looked after at home, with minimal professional support, by her mother and sister. She was well into her 30s before solicitors were instructed and embarked on an investigation of the circumstances surrounding her hospital delivery.
Alleged shortcomings in the management of her mother’s labour were identified and proceedings were launched. Following negotiations, and without the need for a trial of the action, the Department of Health agreed to settle the daughter’s case on the basis of 50 per cent liability.
The settlement has a capitalised value of £3,345,000. It comprises a £1.8 million lump sum, plus index-linked, tax-free payments of £120,000 a year to cover the costs of the daughter’s care for life. In approving the compromise, the High Court praised the unstinting support that the mother had lavished on her daughter without complaint for so many years.