Catastrophic Injury Lawyers
Expert catastrophic injury solicitors - specialist legal team
A catastrophic injury changes everything. One moment, you're living your everyday life, the next, you're facing months or years of treatment, uncertainty about your future, and financial worries. Families suddenly find themselves facing questions they never thought they would have to ask.
Our catastrophic injury solicitors have been handling these complex cases for decades. Based in the Midlands, our legal team represents clients throughout England and Wales who have suffered brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations, and other severe trauma. These aren't just cases to us - each represents someone's life forever altered by circumstances beyond their control.
The compensation we've secured has funded everything from round-the-clock care packages to specially adapted vehicles, buying suitable accommodation and home modifications, and rehabilitation programmes that helped people regain some of the independence they thought they had lost.
Speak to our catastrophic injury legal team
Meet our catastrophic injury lawyers
Andy Shaw
Partner - Head of Personal Injury and Medical Negligence
Sally Green
Senior Associate - Personal Injury
Simon Stanfield
Partner - Personal Injury
Holly McGowan
Principal Associate - Personal Injury
Steven Santy
Partner - Personal Injury
Alison Rowlands
Legal Assistant - Personal Injury
Zoe Beviss
Major Trauma Case Handler - Personal Injury
Simrit Chahal
Associate - Personal Injury
Karen Silk
Legal Director - Personal Injury
David Erwin
Senior Associate - Personal Injury
Claire Burnell
Principal Associate Solicitor - Personal Injury
Mark Parsons
Professional Support Lawyer - Medical Negligence and Personal Injury
Sarah Arnold
Associate - Personal Injury
Laura Hopkins
Senior Associate - Personal Injury
Sasha Morton
Client Support Advisor - Personal Injury
Why families choose our catastrophic injury legal team
Trusted hospital partnerships
Major trauma centres have selected us to provide legal support directly to patients and their families:
- Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham - chosen as one of three firms for the 4 Trauma 4 Patients support service.
- University Hospital of Coventry and Warwickshire - selected for the Major Trauma Support project operated by Major Trauma Support Partnership Ltd.
- Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital - part of the Major Trauma Support project operated by Major Trauma Support Partnership Ltd.
- Royal Stoke University Hospital - part of the Major Trauma Support project operated by Major Trauma Support Partnership
These partnerships mean professionals refer patients to our specialist catastrophic injury solicitors with confidence, knowing we have the expertise to handle the most complex cases.
Professional recognition and expertise
Our catastrophic injury legal team holds extensive professional accreditations and memberships:
Partnerships
- Accredited members of Headway's Head Injury Solicitors directory
- Trusted legal partner for Spinal Injuries Association in the Midlands
- Serious Injury Guide signatories
Professional bodies
- Association of Personal Injury Lawyers
- Motor Accident Solicitors Society
- Birmingham Law Society
- Law Society Personal Injury Panel
Legal directory recognition
- Recognised in the Chambers and Partners directory
- Recommended by the Legal 500 as leading personal injury lawyers
These accreditations reflect our specialist focus on catastrophic injury cases and the trust placed in our legal team by professionals and industry bodies.
Dedicated support
Time matters enormously in catastrophic injury cases - not just for legal deadlines but because early rehabilitation often determines long-term outcomes. Our catastrophic injury solicitors work quickly to secure interim payment applications, whenever possible, while arranging immediate support.
Our client support team includes a qualified social worker, who can be involved within days of your accident. Our team have helped families navigate everything from hospital discharge planning to benefit applications, often before the legal claim is even formally initiated.
Case management and rehabilitation support
Independent case managers
These are healthcare professionals, often nurses, occupational therapists, or physiotherapists, who coordinate all aspects of your care. They're independent of the legal process and work in your best interests. Insurance companies often agree to joint appointments and pay for the case manager, ensuring you get the support you need. However, if they do not cooperate, we have arrangements so that you can still access case management and private rehabilitation.
Rehabilitation funding
Early, intensive rehabilitation improves outcomes. Our catastrophic injury solicitors can often secure funding for private treatment that supplements NHS care. This might include specialist physiotherapy, speech therapy, or neuropsychological rehabilitation.
Equipment provision
From basic mobility aids to complex communication devices, obtaining the right equipment promptly can make a significant difference in recovery. The case management process or interim payments can fund equipment purchases while permanent needs are assessed.
Catastrophic injury cases our solicitors handle
Brain injuries
A brain injury can affect everything from personality and memory to physical abilities and relationships. Sometimes, the person looks fine on the outside while struggling with cognitive problems that make returning to work impossible. Our catastrophic injury lawyers work with neuropsychologists and neurologists who can properly assess these hidden disabilities and ensure compensation reflects the true impact of the accident.
Spinal cord injuries
Spinal injuries don't just affect mobility. They can impact breathing and temperature regulation and increase the risk of serious complications, such as autonomic dysreflexia. Our legal team has secured funding for everything from specialist wheelchairs costing upwards of £30,000 to fully adapted bungalows with ceiling track hoists and environmental controls, helping those affected by spinal cord injuries to live a more independent life.
Amputations
Losing a limb can mean adapting to phantom pain, learning new ways to do simple tasks, and, at times, having to change careers or hobbies. As prosthetic technology improves, the replacement costs mount up. Our catastrophic injury solicitors take into account lifetime costs to ensure your compensation covers your lifetime needs.
Multiple trauma cases
Some accidents cause several serious injuries simultaneously. These cases demand coordination between multiple medical specialists and present complex legal challenges. Our experience with polytrauma cases means nothing gets overlooked in the compensation calculation.
Severe burns and scarring
Burns often require years of reconstructive surgery and specialist skin camouflage creams and powders. Beyond the physical treatment, there's the psychological impact of visible scarring and the practical challenges of reduced mobility from scar tissue. Our legal team secures funding for both immediate treatment and long-term psychological support.
Catastrophic injury claim process
Initial contact
Most families contact us while their loved one is still in the hospital. This isn't too early - it's often precisely the right time. Early legal involvement can unlock funding for private rehabilitation that wouldn't otherwise be available.
Investigation phase
Every catastrophic injury case needs robust evidence. Our legal team collaborates with accident reconstruction experts, medical specialists, and, in some cases, private investigators and the police to determine precisely what happened and who is responsible.
Medical evidence
The extent of your injuries determines compensation levels. That means working with leading consultants and medical experts who can assess not just your current condition, but what problems might develop years or decades later. Arthritis in damaged joints, epilepsy, increased stroke risk after brain injury, equipment needs as you age - this all matters and forms part of a case.
Interim payments
Catastrophic injury cases can take years to conclude, but the financial worries can start immediately. Our solicitors regularly secure interim payments to fund ongoing care, equipment, and home modifications while your case progresses.
Settlement or trial
Most cases are settled without going to court; however, when settlement offers fall short, our partnership with leading barristers' chambers enables us to take complex cases to trial if necessary.
Understanding catastrophic injury compensation payouts
Care costs
If you require ongoing care, this typically represents one of the largest portions of any settlement. Costs vary enormously depending on your needs. Live-in care in your own home can cost £150,000 or more per year. Residential care can cost £80,000 to £120,000 per year. These figures mount up over a normal lifespan.
Lost earnings
Catastrophic injuries can significantly alter a person's career path. A 35-year-old manager earning £50,000 might lose £1.5 million in future earnings. Add pension contributions, promotion prospects, and bonus payments, and the figure grows substantially. Even if you can return to work, it may be in a lower-paid role, which needs to be taken into account as part of your claim.
Equipment and adaptations
Depending on the extent of the injuries, there may be a need for specific equipment, including wheelchairs, hoists, communication aids, and vehicle adaptations. A fully adapted car can cost £40,000 to £60,000, and people often require replacements every few years. Home adaptations for severe disabilities can often run to six figures.
Pain, suffering and loss of amenity
This covers the injury itself and how it affects your quality of life. Current guidelines suggest awards of £350,000-£400,000 for the most severe brain injuries, with spinal injuries ranging from £180,000 for incomplete paraplegia to £350,000 for complete tetraplegia.
Latest successes
Our accreditations
FAQs about catastrophic injury claims
Every client’s compensation depends on their injuries and circumstances. Our complex multiple injury solicitors recover compensation for:
- pain, suffering and disability
- case management costs
- care costs
- psychological treatment, counselling and support
- assistive technology and IT
- prostheses
- vocational rehabilitation
- loss of earnings and pension
- specialist equipment and aids
- additional costs of transport and mobility, including wheelchairs and adapted vehicles
- home adaptations and costs of more suitable accommodation
- medical or surgical treatment
- special education (SEN) costs
- Court of Protection deputyship costs
Rehabilitation costs
- Rehabilitation Code funding - to get rehabilitation started as soon as possible
- rehabilitation funding from interim payments
- ongoing or future additional rehabilitation
Therapy costs
- occupational therapy
- physiotherapy
- speech and language therapy
- hydrotherapy
If we cannot reach a settlement, either because liability or the value of your injury claim is not agreed, we will advise you to start court proceedings. We would prepare the necessary documents that have to be lodged with the court to start proceedings, and then serve them on the other party.
Just because court proceedings are issued, it does not mean that the claim will necessarily have to be determined in a trial. In many instances, the parties will continue to engage and negotiate however, in other matters the claim can only be settled by a judge at trial.
This means that the court process is about making sure that you and the other side get the matter ready, in a timely fashion, to be heard and decided by a judge. This will include you disclosing all documents in your possession which are relevant to your claim, such as medical records and documents to prove your financial losses. You and all of your witnesses will also have to give a witness statement, which are then exchanged simultaneously with the other party’s witness statements. There will also be a timetable for the parties to update and complete their expert evidence, with the experts often meeting with each other to set out areas of their medical opinions where the agree, and where they disagree the reasons why. Often the parties are also able to update a document which sets out what they think the claim is worth, and why.
The vast majority of cases are resolved amicably, even if court proceedings are begun. When a claim is agreed or awarded by a court judgment, injury clients often still need support. As a full-service law firm, we ae able to provide a holistic service to our clients.
For example, a number of clients will be on means-tested state benefits or may be in the future. They are therefore advised to protect their entitlement to those benefits by putting their compensation into a trust, indeed, this is a step that that should do when they receive their first interim payment. This is a service that our private client team can provide and the costs of doing so, can be included within the claim.
Similarly, some clients may lack mental capacity to handle their financial affairs as a result of their injury, if they had a brain injury. In these cases, if they had not previously appointed an attorney then they will need help applying to the court of protection for a deputy to be appointed to look after their interests. Our private client team can look after this process and even act as a deputy, if that is appropriate. Again, the costs of the deputy can be included within the claim.
Even if none of these protections are necessary, clients who receive a significant sum of compensation, especially if it is intended to cover ongoing or future costs, will often need independent financial advice. We can refer them to specialist independent financial advisers who understand the particular requirements of injury claimants.
Partial fault doesn't prevent a claim, though it might reduce compensation. Even if you were 25% at fault, you could still recover 75% of full compensation. Given the sums involved in catastrophic injury and serious cases, that's often still substantial and could have a huge impact on the quality of your life moving forward.
These are advance payments made before your case concludes. They're deducted from any final settlement, but they provide crucial funding when you need it most. Our solicitors regularly secure interim payments within months of an accident.
All our catastrophic and serious injury cases proceed on a no-win, no-fee basis. If we're successful, most legal costs are recovered from the other side. We explain all potential costs clearly before taking on your case.
