On 5 October 2022, the High Court in London decided the Claimant in AXX v. ZAJAC, a 29-year-old former firefighter who had been knocked off his bicycle in 2016, required the court’s protection as a vulnerable person – he is seeking compensation for personal injuries and losses, which are covered by insurance.

The claimant had not cooperated with various medical Expert assessments, with the result that no proper reports were available about his mental state or the brain and psychiatric injuries allegedly caused by the collision.

The defending insurance company wanted the legal case put on hold until such time as the claimant had cooperated with the medical experts, arguing that he should be forced to cooperate and then have all of the issues in the case heard all at once, as quickly as possible.

The claimant’s barrister argued that the claimant was vulnerable because of his alleged brain and psychiatric injuries, and that the court was under a duty to enable him to put his evidence before the court to ensure a fair trial. This meant allowing the claim to proceed on a split-trial basis: the judge would first consider whether the defendant’s insurer should pay any compensation at all. This would allow the claim to progress more quickly. If the claimant were able to prove he had indeed suffered brain and psychiatric injury in the collision – the defendant alleged his condition was due to drug use – then the insurer would have to pay the claimant interim compensation. Interim compensation would be used to pay for private treatment to improve the claimant’s mental state of psychosis so that, all being well, he would then be well enough to be examined by medical experts.

The judge, Master Victoria McCloud, accepted the claimant’s arguments and decided the claimant should be given the best opportunity to receive treatment so that the experts would in due course be in a better position accurately to assess what problems he would continue to suffer, for how long, and with what consequences.

The judge also ordered that, if the claimant continued to fail to cooperate with the defendant’s experts, there should be a medical assessment of the claimant’s mental capacity.

In my view this is an impressive and powerful decision. As a solicitor who represents those who have suffered life-changing injuries, I know only too well how daunting and challenging the legal process can be for our clients. If a person’s ability to reason has been harmed by someone else’s negligence, then it would be wrong to use that against them. In this case the High Court has emphasised the importance of safeguarding the vulnerable and ensuring that justice can be done.

If you have any questions about personal injury law, or would like to make an enquiry about bringing a serious injury claim, please contact us on 01243 786668 or at [email protected]

Paul Fretwell, Partner & Head of Personal Injury

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