Collaborating to achieve a life-changing outcome

How claimant and defendant representatives worked together to help amputee Dean Fellows rebuild his life after a road collision – settling his multi-million pound claim in an impressively short timeframe and enabling access to rehabilitation along the way

Dean Fellows was left seriously injured in a road collision, when a car went through a junction and hit his motorbike. The horrifying news followed that he would need to have his left leg amputated through the knee. 

While Dean admits at that point he was “completely devastated”, and couldn’t bear to look to the future, already – only shortly after the incident in April 2022 - plans were being made for his long-term recovery and to enable him to rebuild his life. 

Law firm Slater and Gordon was instructed by Dean to pursue a claim on his behalf. Working closely with the car driver’s insurer, NFU Mutual, and its solicitor DAC Beachcroft Claims Ltd, the three parties were able to bring the matter to conclusion within two-and-a-half years –a particularly short timeframe for a life-changing injury case such as this. 

Ahead of the final settlement being agreed and paid, Dean was able to receive interim payments throughout the duration of the claim, which allowed him to access the therapies and support he needed to help him physically and psychologically.

He was also assessed and fitted with a state-of-the-art prosthetic leg to enable him to regain some independence. 

“I know from asking other people I’ve met, who have had similar injuries, that my case has been settled in a very short time frame and I’m grateful for that,” says Dean. 

“It was completely devastating to find out I would lose my leg, and there have been many challenges along the way since. I am still extremely frustrated with the limitations in what I can do, but I’m practically minded so will always find a way forward, and I have had support right along the way.”

Here, the three professionals who worked on Dean’s claim – claimant solicitor, Richard Crabtree; claims specialist, Steve Stowers; and defendant lawyer, Nick Mahoney – discuss the importance of acting quickly, their joint commitment to rehabilitation, and how collaborative working is the key to successful outcomes for seriously injured clients. 

Swift and efficient interventions 

After Dean’s collision, shortly after his release home from hospital, Richard Crabtree was appointed to oversee his serious injury claim. NFU Mutual were contacted the same day and two days later, a meeting was held with both NFU Mutual and their solicitor. 

“I looked in the Serious Injury Guide, found out Steve was the contact and got in touch. This was on the Wednesday of that week, I called as soon as I’d seen Dean,” says Richard, a principal lawyer at Slater and Gordon.

“Steve very quickly got Nick involved, and on the Friday, we had the video conference with Steve, Nick and I to get things moving.”

Steve and Nick both say it’s not uncommon for things to happen in such a short time frame – although Richard says in his experience of more than 30 years in handling serious injury claims that not all insurers are so quick to swing into action. 

“We tend to get notified pretty quickly when there has been an accident where a vehicle has been damaged. From there, the severity will be established and the claim will be allocated to the appropriate team within NFU Mutual. We knew about what had happened to Dean and of course wanted to support him as best we could,” says Steve, a claims technical lead at NFU Mutual. 

“I think all three of us have been doing this job long enough to have a feel for a case when it comes to us, fairly early on we’ll have a good steer as to how the road ahead may map out. 

“Our experience of these complex cases enables us to respond to any challenges that may occur along the way. We wanted to work as closely as possible with Richard to achieve the best outcome for Dean.”

In the second call held between both sides, a proposed timeframe had already been set out and agreed.

“The key to it is that we get things in place quickly and early on. Then we can work towards a settlement date, factoring in some flexibility in case some experts need extra time for their reports, or there are other things outside our control,” says Nick, partner in DAC Beachcroft Claims Ltd. 

“It’s all front loaded, so in those first two or three meetings, we set out what we are going to do and make sure we do it. By doing that, you’ve got the best chance of moving things forward quickly. In this case, we all knew what we were working towards and all the blocks were in place. We all wanted to get things moving for Dean, and to get him the right interventions at the right time.” 

Committed to rehabilitation 

Through making a plan at an early stage, both sides could ensure that Dean was able to access the support he needed, and interim payments were also able to be made at appropriate points. A case manager from Bush & Co was jointly instructed to allow support to proceed at an early stage. 

“This was very important for Dean. While his prosthetic came later, things like adaptations to his home and the appointment of a case manager made a big difference to him early on, which has helped in his recovery since,” says Richard.

Rehabilitation is always a priority for NFU Mutual, says Steve. 

“We’re massive supporters of rehabilitation and are quite happy to offer or agree funds for something like a case manager,” he says. 

“We feel that access to rehabilitation for the injured party is going to lead to a better outcome and the best possible recovery for them. And we don’t hide away from the fact that through early interventions and rehabilitation, the final claim for damages may well settle for less.”

While Richard points out that NFU’s commitment to rehabilitation is certainly not replicated across the insurance sector, as he sees all too frequently in some other cases, Steve highlights that this is also the case in the claimant world. 

“Not every claimant solicitor wants to engage in rehabilitation. In some cases, we can be kept in the dark until three years down the line when we are served with a claim and multiple reports,” he says. 

“Some solicitors see their job as simply getting the maximum possible settlement and fail to engage – but we would see it as, in reality, their client could have been having three years of rehabilitation in this time. The maximum compensation doesn’t always mean you’re getting the maximum opportunity for your client’s recovery.” 

Indeed, at NFU Mutual’s ‘Working Better Together’ conference earlier this year, a claimant – a man seriously injured in an accident at work – was one of the speakers, and attested to the insurer’s commitment to ensuring the best possible access to rehabilitation. 

“It’s always quite surprising for people to hear that we had an injured claimant present at our conference, and that was the most powerful thing about the whole day. An insurer getting a claimant along is unusual, but hopefully tells its own story about how we work,” says Steve. 

Value of collaboration 

A two-and-a-half year settlement period is rare in a case such as Dean’s – but both sides credit a collaborative approach and trust as being key to this. 

“We had an open dialogue from the start. Both Steve and Nick were committed to engaging fully, and it’s really important we establish the trust from the outset,” says Richard. 

“Often you get a transactional relationship, rather than proper engagement, and that made the difference here. NFU Mutual are a very enlightened body, they appreciate how this works and want to work for the benefit of someone who has a serious injury. That made the process very straightforward.”

Regular contact is also important, says Nick, to ensure all sides are fully aware of the outlook. 

“Richard kept in touch with us throughout, and that is very valuable,” says Nick. 

“We don’t want to be hit with any surprises further down the line. We won’t always agree on everything, we didn’t in this case, but we always found a way forward. 

“By working collaboratively, we can get things moving quicker – for example, Richard may have wanted to instruct five experts, we may decide to just instruct the ‘core’ experts and reserve our position in relation to the other experts before taking a view on whether we need our evidence in this area. By understanding where things are, we can better support the process.” 

Steve adds: “One of our primary roles as claims handlers is to ensure we set enough money aside for each case, and to be sure we can do that, we need to know what is happening. 

“In this case, we had regular catch ups, emails, we knew what was going on. And that’s only going to be good for the client.” 

The outcome for Dean has been very positive, with him recently receiving his final settlement to help him move on with his life. As well as provision for ongoing therapies and support, a new property is also set to be purchased, to enable him to live independently in a house geared to his needs. 

“Ultimately, all three of us have to work together after dreadful things happen, such as in the case of Dean – but to know how the rehabilitation and settlement have helped in this case is very pleasing,” says Steve. 

“You don’t always get to hear about the positive impact interim payments and the settlement has on someone, as we don’t have the contact with them that the claimant solicitor has, but it really is good to know how Dean has benefitted. 

“He has been hugely motivated in his rehabilitation and determined not to let anything hold him back, and not to let what happened define him. The fact that we have been able to secure this, and to work successfully together in doing so, is to the credit of Dean.”

Richard adds: “This shows the importance of committing to working together, keeping your client at the heart of things at all times. If you can do that, and work sensibly and honestly together with the other side, you’ve got a strong chance of getting a really good outcome. Thankfully, we could do that for Dean.”

Get in touch with Richard Crabtree here.

For more information about Slater and Gordon, visit slatergordon.co.uk