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Ashtons Legal said in an announcement on its website on 26 October 2026 that personal injury specialist Roger Loomes had settled a £1.35 million claim for a client referred to as Ms Y, who suffered a brain injury in a workplace warehouse incident while undertaking a short-term work placement as an undergraduate student.
Key points
- Ms Y’s head was crushed by equipment she was using, leaving her with a skull fracture, a bleed on her brain and the need for a craniotomy.
- Five years on, she remains significantly disabled, with a brain injury classified as moderate to severe, a central vestibular disorder, chronic pain, PTSD and significantly impaired mobility.
- She has not yet managed to return to paid employment on a sustained basis.
- Her employer’s insurers admitted primary liability but argued she had been partly at fault, putting the claim’s value at around £210,000, according to Mr Loomes.
- Twenty experts were involved in the case, disagreeing over her care needs, employment prospects and the career she might otherwise have had.
Dispute over valuation
According to the announcement, the insurers contended that Ms Y had driven into an obvious hazard while distracted, but the Ashtons Legal team pointed to failures in training and supervision. The twenty experts involved also differed on her future care requirements and what her working life would have looked like without the accident.
Settlement and trust arrangement
Mr Loomes said: “There are often differences of opinion as to the value of a personal injury claim, but the gap here was wider than most. The employer’s insurers tried to suggest the claim was only worth around £210,000. Our schedule was vastly higher. With the support of excellent counsel and experts, and significantly, Ms Y’s bravery to accept our advice and walk away from earlier settlement offers, we were able to ensure she achieved the best possible settlement. The funds are being held in a personal injury trust set up to protect her position regarding entitlement to benefits. The settlement gives her long-term financial security, recognising the career and independence the accident took from a talented young woman at the very start of her adult life.”