Catastrophic injury claims

Accidents serious enough to cause head, brain and spinal injuries can happen on holiday and the impact on both the injured person and their family can be enormous. Care needs are frequently very significant and it is the substantial cost of future care that often leads Penningtons Manches Cooper's clients to pursue catastrophic injury claims.

It is important that any claim is handled by personal injury lawyers with genuine experience of foreign catastrophic injury claims. Penningtons Manches Cooper's travel law team is one of the leading teams in the UK and provides legal assistance for accidents, injuries and medical treatment claims abroad. For catastrophic injury claims, we share knowledge and expertise with our highly rated personal injury and clinical negligence teams to offer a totally integrated service. We also work closely with the deputies in our Court of Protection team, who manage our clients' funds if they do not have capacity to do so.

Every case is different and we always tailor our advice to each client’s specific requirements. We will advise you if your claim can be brought in the UK or if it could be better pursued in the country where your accident occurred. We seek to achieve the best possible outcome for you, not only financially but also to meet your longer-term medical and other needs. We encourage defendants to meet these needs at the earliest possible stage and to provide interim payments to fund your rehabilitation where appropriate.

The primary need at the outset is usually to maximise physical recovery as far as possible through proper rehabilitation. We have particular expertise in head, brain and spinal injury claims and are familiar with working with case managers, obtaining funding and making provision for the recruitment of care teams, purchasing and adaptation of suitable accommodation and setting up support and therapy packages.

Our lawyers understand the cognitive and behavioural issues and rehabilitation needs that can result from brain injury as well as the psychological impact on clients and their families. We are recommended by the brain injury charity Headway and ASPIRE, which provides practical help to people who have been paralysed by spinal cord injury, as well as being accredited by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL). Members of the team are senior accredited litigators with APIL and on the Law Society recommended personal injury lawyers panel. 

We are signatories to the Serious Injury Guide, which encourages a higher level of collaboration and engagement between claimant and defendant lawyers and insurers on claims valued in excess of £250,000. We are also an established member of the Brain Injury Group which provides access to a range of services to facilitate early and proactive rehabilitation and offers a fully integrated support network to our clients and their families.