Car Accident Claim Case Study – Client Situation
Our client, J, a 20-year-old man, was travelling in the front passenger seat of a moving vehicle. It was being driven by his work colleague, when he sadly lost control of the vehicle, creating a road traffic collision.
The car veered into the path of an oncoming vehicle on the opposite carriageway, and our client sustained a fracture to the right femur, along with a significant injury to his left leg in the accident. The collision was serious, creating devastating injuries, which meant that J had to undergo multiple operations in the years to follow. The operations included pain management surgeries and a below the knee amputation of his left leg, several years after the accident.
The amputation caused multiple cysts and infections at the stump of his leg, which meant that the prosthesis that he was fitted for could not be used for a long time. Sadly, this mental distress from the infections, and lack of mobility caused a profound psychological impact on our client, and he developed a significant mood disorder with depressive features and a phobia and anxiety of travelling in a car as a passenger.
According to a medical study in 2015, around 30% of all amputees suffer with depression, or social isolation, making mental health a great cause for concern for someone like J. He is currently in ongoing counselling and taking antidepressants to help him overcome these difficulties; but the world of mental health is a complex one, that offers many multi-directional challenges.
Due to the injuries that J sustained in the road traffic accident, he has since been unable to return back to work as an engineer This is because due to the fact that engineers often have to travel to and from their clients, when and J suffers with a phobia of being back in a car. This travel anxiety and phobia have negatively impacted his earning potential in the future, and if he does work again, he’s likely to have to undertake sedentary roles.
Sedentary roles are jobs that involve sitting down for the duration of a day, and any walking or standing is very minor. The roles do not require any lifting, and they are mostly desk-related roles.