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In November 2021, JG was a rear seated passenger in a VW Golf that was travelling in excess of the 25mph limit on a narrow road in Guernsey. The vehicle lost control and clipped a wall on the side of the road colliding with a pole, before being flipped upside down and coming to a stop on its roof.
JG sustained catastrophic and life-changing injuries, including a C7 complete spinal cord injury following an unstable fracture to his C6 vertebrae. He is now dependent on full-time carers to meet his personal needs and a wheelchair for mobility.
JG sought the assistance of the International Injury team at Stewarts. Partner Chris Deacon led JG’s claim alongside senior associate Rebecca Huxford.
The claim presented a number of challenges of the utmost complexity. In respect of liability, the defendant raised contributory negligence as JG was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the incident. Unlike in the UK, wearing a seatbelt as a passenger in the back of a car only became a legal requirement in Guernsey in March 2019, meaning JG had grown up without this being second nature to him. JG’s legal team gathered extensive expert evidence to inform the analysis of this issue from accident reconstruction and seatbelt experts, as well as medical causation expert evidence from emergency medicine consultant Dr Rod Mackenzie. This enabled robust legal argument that the seatbelt would not have made any difference to the outcome in JG’s case because of the forces exerted on the vehicle during the rollover and impact with the road, combined with the limited headroom JG had as a 6ft+ tall rear seat passenger in the Golf.
From the perspective of quantum, whilst the law of Guernsey shared many similarities with that of England, there were some noticeable differences. In particular, Guernsey did not have a fixed discount rate to apply to multiplier for calculating future losses. The evidence of an economist and an actuary were obtained and three different discount rates were applied to different types of future loss.
Further practical issues arose, such as the availability of suitable carers on the island and the costs of retaining their services. Further, costs associated with accommodation, aids and equipment and necessary medical treatments we all affected by the limited resources available in Guernsey.
In the course of preparing the case, Gerard, Ian, Chris and Becky visited Guernsey to meet JG and his parents at their new home in order to fully appreciate all of JG’s needs and concerns.
At a Joint Settlement Meeting, JG’s legal team reached agreement on a final settlement of £23 million after issuing court proceedings on a protective basis in the Royal Court of Guernsey.
To read more on the case, click here.
Gerard McDermott KC practises from England and is based in London and Manchester. His main areas of practice are Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice and Employment Law at all levels, although he maintains a diverse practice across the Common Law and Commercial fields. Gerard acts for both Claimants and Defendants and their insurers. He represents clients with a vast range of injuries arising from negligence, including medical malpractice and road traffic accidents.
Ian Denham is a personal injury practitioner with a particular expertise in matters involving catastrophic injuries and accidents abroad. He has a particular interest in case with an international element, including claims raising conflicts of law and jurisdictional issues. He has extensive experience in spinal injuries claims with complex future care and accommodation requirements.
To find out more about Gerard and Ian, contact Paul Barton on +44 (0)20 7427 4907 or Harry Gamble on +44 (0)20 7353 6381 for a confidential discussion.
News 12 Feb, 2025
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