Air ambulance saved James' life
James was involved in a serious motorcycle collision in August 2015 at the Lix Toll Garage on the A85 between Lochearnhead and Crianlarich.
James had been on a run on his Triumph Thruxton with some friends up to Glencoe and was making his way south after stopping for a coffee at the Green Welly Stop at Tyndrum. Weather conditions were excellent. Visibility was great and the road surface was dry.
As James approached the garage, he suddenly saw a red Honda Civic that had been travelling north, pull across his path. There was absolutely nothing that he could do. He wasn’t afforded any opportunity to take evasive action. His bike went spinning off down the north bound carriageway and he ended up underneath the front nearside passenger door of the vehicle.
A Dutch girl who was also a motorcyclist pulled up and ran across screaming at the lady driver, “are you blind?” The female driver got out of her car saying, “I never saw him.”
The Emergency services were quick to respond and attended the scene. An air ambulance helicopter was requested and landed in an adjacent field. James was stretchered into the back of the ambulance to be taken down to the helicopter and that is the last thing he remembers until waking up in hospital.
Whilst in the ambulance, James suffered a cardiac arrest. He was stabilised, placed in the helicopter and then had a second cardiac arrest.
He was taken to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. He had suffered a collapsed lung, a right pneumothorax and 4 fractured ribs to his right side. He also suffered a fracture to his right clavicle and his right femur was fractured in two places.
He spent 31 days in total at the QEUH . Most of that time was spent in the High Dependency Unit or Intensive Care.
When James eventually got home from hospital, he decided to change the Solicitor appointed by his insurer and contacted specialist motorcycle Solicitor, Brenda Mitchell at Motorcycle Law Scotland. Brenda made an appointment to go and see James at home the following day.
This case demonstrates co-operation between a Solicitor and an insurer. From day 1, the insurer agreed to support a request for extensive rehabilitation. A case manager was appointed to identify James’ needs. He got access to private physiotherapy, psychological treatment, gym membership. He got everything he needed in order to assist with his recovery.
Interim payments were received to ease financial stress and burden because James was paid off from his job as an HGV driver on grounds of ill health. Due to the extensive nature of his multiple injuries, James’ recovery was long and slow despite the extensive rehabilitation package that was put in place. It was important to wait until the right time to obtain medical reports (cardiology, orthopaedic, neuropsychological) to allow us to properly quantify James’ case.
On receipt of all medical reports from five separate medical consultants, pension loss reports, vocational reports and even orthotic reports, we quantified James’ claim and submitted a statement of valuation to the third party insurer.
The insurer came back with very reasonable proposals for settlement. The case did not need to go to Court which displays sensible co-operation between Insurer and Solicitor. More than anything else, James was not subjected to additional stress. He was able to get closure without the uncertainly and potential unpredictability of raising proceedings in Court and another year of turmoil.
James had the following words to say:
“I would like to say a ‘big thanks’ to Brenda and the team for an excellent service.
The help and advice has been fantastic.
After my first meeting with Brenda, I knew right away I had made a good decision in changing the solicitor appointed to me by my Insurer. She started the ball rolling immediately and always kept me up to speed. My journey has now come to an end and without Brenda’s help, the access to specialists and general rehabilitation support, I would never have made the progress that I have.
My settlement was far better than I could have ever dreamed; I cannot praise them enough. Many thanks.”