People who suffer serious injuries, sometimes life changing, as a result of an accident often have additional accommodation needs as a result of their injuries. Their existing home might not be large enough resulting in the need to buy a larger property. Until a recent Court of Appeal decision, many seriously injured claimants have experienced a shortfall in damages recovered because of the restricted method of calculating damages. This often meant that claimants would have to take money from the part of their damages allocated to care, loss of earnings or equipment to put towards purchasing a suitable property.
In a recent case, the claimant was awarded more than £4 million following the loss of her leg in a road traffic accident. However, the claimant was not permitted to receive a further £900,000 required to fund the capital costs to purchase the larger accommodation that she needed as a direct result of her injuries. The Court of Appeal has held that the claimant should be permitted to receive the additional funds required for the property.
The Court of Appeal decided that the previously used formula did not result in fair or reasonable compensation for injured claimants in these circumstances. Any claimant for whom this decision might be relevant should take specialist legal advice.
It is worth noting however that the insurers against whom the decision with was made have applied to appeal the decision. Accordingly, this may not be the end of the story.
To discuss this or any other litigation matter, contact us.