Lawyers at Fletchers Solicitors in Merseyside have secured a £1.4m for a motorcyclist who suffered life-changing injuries following a collision in 2016. Tony McDonough reports

Lawyers at a Merseyside law firm have secured a £1.4m settlement for a motorcyclist who will never be able to walk again following a horror collision.

The unnamed man was riding to his uncle’s house in March 2016 and was carrying his brother-in-law on the back of his motorcycle. He began to overtake a car. The driver of the car saw the bike but pulled out into the motorcyclists path.

The rider was catapulted into a field next to the road. He was rushed to hospital where doctors discovered his spinal cord was severed. Now aged 29 he has had to come to terms with the fact he will never walk again.

Shortly after the collision, Southport law firm Fletchers Solicitors, a specialist in cases involving motorcycles, took up his case. The driver of the car denied liability at first but, just before a liability trial in the Royal Courts of Justice was about to start, an improved offer was made from the defendant offering an 85/15 settlement in the motorcyclist’s favour.

His lawyers secured more than £1.4m for their client in interim funds throughout the lifetime of the case. The final settlement was used to implement a rehabilitation plan and purchase suitable accommodation.

All parties had attended a mediation in an attempt to resolve the case but could not reach agreement. The claimant maintained his instructions to seek a settlement which included both a lump sum and periodical payment order to cover care and case management costs for life.

An order for provisional damages was also sought to allow for the future risk. A significant lump sum offer was rejected at the mediation. In the following few days, negotiations continued and the claimant made a Part 36 offer which incorporated the lump sum plus the periodical payment order and provisional damages. The capitalised offer was over seven-figures, and this was accepted just days ahead of a court hearing.

Before the accident, the claimant was young, fit and healthy one working full time as a refuse collector. His life revolved around motorsports – from watching live events to riding taking part.

He said: “I was always racing, go-karting, off-roading, riding on quad bikes and BMXs’. I was very active. Anything with an engine, I was doing it.”

When left significantly disabled after the crash, he said he felt “hopeless”. Fletchers Solicitors worked alongside him to secure a payout which would cover a new property to facilitate his mobility issues, which has helped to move his life forward.

“If we didn’t get this property, I don’t think I would have survived,” he added. “That’s the truth. Beforehand, I stayed in bed. I just didn’t see the point. Since then, there’s so much more hope. One day, you wake up thinking your life is over, but this house has opened endless possibilities.”

The settlement will also cover the employment of a care team, and for the claimant to join a private rehabilitation programme, where he has already made great progress. This combined with the new property has given the Claimant a lot more independence and hope.

Caroline Morris, a senior chartered legal executive at Fletchers Solicitors, added: “Our client has endured so much since this devastating accident. We are delighted to have been able to secure this settlement despite a liability dispute and disagreement over the value of the case.”