Mum With Spinal Injury Moves Into New Home

We helped a new mother with a life-changing spinal injury move into a new home that suited her specialist care needs.

Jane* was an inpatient at a specialist mental health rehabilitation centre, but found her time there very difficult.

She was being physically attacked by other residents and found herself in a state of complete despair, and often asked for help from the staff.

But Jane felt that staff weren’t listening to her, and one day, she decided she couldn’t cope with her feelings and decided to leave.

She managed to escape from the treatment centre and in doing so she suffered multiple and life-changing injuries, including catastrophic injuries to her spine, pelvis and legs, as well as bowel and bladder incontinence and significant psychological injuries.

The severity of her injuries meant she was left with long-term mobility problems, and struggled with many basic day-to-day tasks at home.

She found this extremely upsetting and distressing, and her recuperation was made even more difficult as she was pregnant.

Jane gave birth to a healthy girl, but her injuries limited how much care and attention she could give to her baby.

How We Helped

Jane decided to claim compensation from the specialist mental health rehabilitation centre she’d been staying at when she was injured, and after speaking with her, we agreed to take on her case.

Thankfully, they admitted responsibility for Jane's accident, which meant she wouldn’t have to go through the added stress and trauma of going to Court.

We set to work on making sure her various needs were identified and met, and gathered independent medical evidence and witness statements to support her claim.

We have secured more than £1 million in interim payments to date, so that a case manager assigned to Jane could set up a bespoke care package, including the rehabilitation, aids and equipment she’d need to rebuild her life.

Finding a New Home

It was also clear that Jane would need a new home, as she and her partner lived in a flat with stairs, and she’d suffer horrendous pain trying to use them. Other features of the flat also caused problems. For example, the shower was over the bath, and she struggled to climb over the bath in order to have a shower.

A suitable rental property couldn’t be found, but we secured enough money in interim compensation payments to purchase a new and specially adapted home.

It was very important that Jane could live in a home that was safe for her and received a comprehensive package of care, particularly as her partner was suffering with his own ill health.

Jane recently got the keys to her new house, where she now lives with her partner, baby and their dog.

We’re delighted that everyone involved in the case was able to work together to achieve a fantastic result for Jane, and we wish her and her family well for the future.

*not her real name