By Samrah Jaffrey- Senior PI Solicitor
As some very well known and well regarded solicitors like to say in their television advert.. “because compensation is only part of the story…”
As claimant lawyers we came into the profession to do good. To help and support, and fight for justice for those who perhaps cannot fight for themselves. Too often, in the tumult of political squabbling and point scoring that seems to define dramatic battles played out on the public stage in this area, the actual claimant, the individual – the person, is forgotten. He or she is grouped into a band of people with nothing better to do than research ways of defrauding the system and asking for things they do not deserve. No doubt there are unscrupulous claimants and potential claimants out there who do this but those of us on both sides of the Claimant/Defendant divide must and do steer clear of such folk. This article does not deal with such people, they are not our concern, that concern must be reserved for the deserving, the genuinely and often quietly injured who don’t want to make a fuss and just want to get back to the way things were.
Such individuals, injured, sometimes quite badly, through no fault of their own, often are not heard in the debate – but amid the cries of compensation culture and fundamentally dishonest, they shine through as the reason for doing what we do as claimant lawyers. The impact of the injury on his or her life, the day to day limitations, the frustration of just not being able to go about one’s daily routine, all amount to something none of us should have to suffer. It is to alleviate such suffering that we come to work every day, getting on with what seem to be thankless tasks for almost a pittance and nearly for free, (compared to the work involved) because, such claimants are most definitely worth it. In doing this, we must look to successfully pursue the claim, all the while ensuring that in addition to the basic proposition of General and Special damages, we do not forget the raft of heads of damage covered by both these categories, together with the wider picture of trying to help the client get their life back on track.
It is not the aim of this article to deal with the catastrophic, serious or high value injury claims, rather to ensure that in even small and mid -sized claims, we are pursuing all possible heads of claim and also understanding that to us this is a claim, a file, a case to be won, but to the claimant, it is their life we are dealing with, their everyday reality. No amount of money can give back what an injury takes away but it is the only meaningful apology that can be made and is there to try and put the claimant as close to being back to the position in which they would have been, “but for “the accident. The definition of rehabilitation is to restore something to its original state, to “put back” as it were, what went before. It is an important concept that a claimant lawyer must start to consider as he/she accepts instructions, right through to when he/she settles the claim. It could involve any of the physical therapies that go hand in hand with dealing with certain injuries, physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractic treatment, counselling, cognitive behavioural therapy or even vocational therapy or it could mean the support that a claimant needs to make sense of their changed position, not being able to work or work full time for example, adapting to an aid or support, or just a different way of moving, climbing into bed, getting out of a car.
It is sometimes quite easy to lose sight of the bigger picture in the battle to get the compensation your client deserves, but perhaps they need a little more from their solicitor, they have already suffered the trauma of the accident so not suffering the trauma of the claims process is a bonus, otherwise it is a double whammy. Listening to the client, empathising and thinking of ways to improve their life, or to give them some of the confidence back that they may have lost, are ways that help that cannot be quantified in pounds and pence but are valuable nonetheless. Recognising that this is not easy for them, to relive something they would much rather forget, can sometimes serve as a balm for what may still be an open wound that is not just physical.
Our job is not only to think of the large things but the little things also and give attention to detail. Whilst it is easy to remember to begin the claim with Specials such as treatment, travel or medication costs, it is important to always measure each claim against a barometer of different heads to see what applies. They may not be obvious at first, but if we are alive to them, we are close to trying to put back the claimant, as much as can be done, to the position they would have been in ‘but for ‘the accident. Loss of congenial employment is no longer reserved for the concert pianist whose ability to play is affected, increasingly courts are recognising that the loss of a career that one loves, be it the pianist, policeman or indeed plumber is relative to the individual and can add anywhere between £5,000 and up to even £10,000 to a claim in certain cases. It may not be something that immediately comes to mind but if an individual feels the loss of such a vocation, if it is important to them, it is certainly worth claiming, as recently case law suggests. Domestic care and assistance can be overlooked, or even underestimated by the claimant or those who provide it, but it is important to have that discussion with the client to see if it the possibility of it exists. If supported by medical evidence, genuine care that is given over a period of time will have its own monetary value under this head. A Smith and Manchester [Smith v Manchester Corporation [1974]) award can in some cases amount to several months of salary if there is a serious possibility that it will take the claimant longer than the average person to find a suitable job. Equally they may have a partial Smith and Manchester claim where they are working in a less well paid job and have a recognised and tangible risk of being thrown onto the open labour market again. All such heads may not be as far removed from each client as we might think and in gathering all these eggs into the one basket, the claimant may well come away with much more than anyone first realised, with their lawyer having the sometimes elusive , but immensely valuable sense , of a job well done.
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