£23 million has been awarded to a victim of a road accident, four years after he suffered “life changing injuries”.
Known only as ‘JG’, he had been a passenger in a VW Golf driven by ‘AC’ along Le Friquet in December 2021.
The pair were returning home after a night out when the driver lost control of the vehicle, resulting in JG’s catastrophic injuries including to his spinal cord and vertebrae.
The injuries left JG paralysed from the neck down.
He was just 20 years old at the time.
Following the accident, JG was airlifted to Southampton General Hospital before undergoing specialist spinal injury rehabilitation at the Royal Buckinghamshire Hospital.
While his treatment was ongoing, a legal challenge was launched on behalf of JG by London law firm Stewarts, in conjunction with Guernsey firm Walkers.
Stewarts worked with the defendant, AC’s legal team to secure early access to almost £3m in funding to help JG with his initial rehabilitation costs. This money meant he could buy and adapt a new home locally to suit his long-term needs.
Shortly after issuing court proceedings on a protective basis in Guernsey’s Royal Court, the parties reached agreement on the final lump sum settlement of £23m.
Stewarts said: “The outcome reflects the over-arching common law principle of full compensation, following input from specialist financial experts.”
Chris Deacon, is a Partner in International Injury at Stewarts.
He said the settlement is based on many factors.
“The level of settlement agreed in JG’s case reflects his young age, long life expectancy, requirement for two carers at certain times during the day to meet his care needs safely and the prevailing economic factors in Guernsey.
“The cost of providing specialist spinal cord injury care has risen sharply in recent years and comes with added challenges on a small island with limited resources for spinal injuries such as Guernsey.
“The conclusion in JG’s case reflects what I consider to be an excellent example of collaborative working in action between the parties, navigating through the challenges and complexities of the case and cooperating to reach a sensible outcome.”
The previous largest payout for a personal injury claim in Guernsey was awarded to Manny Helmot in a well publicised case.
A Commonwealth Games cyclist, Mr Helmot was on a training ride in 1998 when he was hit by a car.
He spent 36 weeks in hospital after the collision, having suffered life changing injuries including brain damage.
He was eventually awarded £14m in 2010.
Adjusted for inflation the award given to Mr Helmot would be worth around £19.5m today.