£154,185 awarded for a severe jaw injury

A total settlement of £154,185 was awarded in favour of a 20 year-old female student who suffered severe jaw injury and head injury in a road collision.

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Jaw injury compensation claims

Injury details

The claimant, aged 11 at the time of the accident, was travelling in the back seat of a car when it collided at speed with another vehicle. She experienced immediate and severe pain in her neck, jaw and head, which jolted forward upon impact. Despite having worn a seatbelt, the claimant badly dislocated her jaw.

The initial injuries caused severe disruption to the claimant's daily life. She was unable to fully open her mouth nor chew solid food. She lost her ability to independently brush her teeth or bathe herself.

Her symptoms deteriorated as time passed, and the claimant's jaw would lock and swell. She experienced consistent discomfort when eating, talking and attempting to sleep.

Additionally, her education was significantly affected. She would often have to leave school due to the flare up of her symptoms which had an effect on her development.

Her treatment would only provide temporary relief and was regular and intrusive. It was decided following multiple scans that the best option was to list the claimant for joint replacement surgery.

However, due to her young age, the procedure was delayed. The evidence agreed by numerous specialist consultants was that she would require initial surgery within 10 years of the accident, a further joint replacement within the subsequent 20 years, and then every 25 years thereafter.

The prognosis was that her condition would inevitably deteriorate between each procedure. She would require the same type of treatment that she was currently undergoing alongside periodic surgery.

Alongside the claimant's physical pain and discomfort, she suffered from depressive episodes when her symptoms were particularly distressing. Again, this further impacted on the quality of her learning and education.

Award

The matter was eventually settled between the parties out of court.

A total of £154,185 was awarded in favour of the claimant. This figure included general damages of £28,000 and future medical expenses of £62,270.