Sarah's Story
Sarah is a US Citizen who was working as a teacher on a US Air Force Base in Eastern England. She was travelling to work one Saturday in order to prepare for the following week when she was involved in a head-on collision with a vehicle whose driver had lost control while overtaking a lorry. Sarah suffered catastrophic physical and brain injuries such that she was never able to return to work.
By complete coincidence, the driver of the other vehicle was also an American but unfortunately, very shortly after the accident, she fled the UK and despite comprehensive efforts by our American Enquiry Agent to find her we were unsuccessful. It transpired that she was not insured to drive her (father’s) car and consequently the Motor Insurers’ Bureau dealt with the case on her behalf. Although they readily accepted responsibility for the accident they challenged the seriousness of Sarah’s injuries.
Midway through the case, once Sarah had completed her initial rehabilitation, she returned to the USA to live with her brother in West Virginia. From there she returned to her home in New Mexico to begin the long, slow recuperation. Because of the extent and variety of her injuries we needed to instruct medical experts in the United States to report on her condition and prognosis. The approach to litigation in the US is very different from that in this country and we were required to not only identify the appropriate experts but also to instruct them as to what was required from them. Once their evidence was prepared we travelled to the USA to meet Sarah in the presence of all her experts so that we were able to satisfy ourselves that they would be able to give the best possible evidence at Trial.
The case was listed for a week-long Trial in the High Court and arrangements had been made to fly over from the USA both the expert witnesses and Sarah’s family who could testify to the effect of the accident upon her. At the very last minute a substantial offer was made by the insurers which will ensure Sarah’s financial security into the future.
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