Member Article

Former traffic enforcement officer wins legal case

A man from Jarrrow has finally won justice after a drunk driver ended his career as a traffic enforcement officer. Colin Hickey (43), was injured whilst patrolling outside of St Bede’s School in South Shields in 2011 when a driver pinned him between his van and metal railings.

The van driver was subsequently found to be more than twice over the drink-drive limit and was charged with careless driving and driving with excess alcohol.

Following a four year battle, the serious injury division at TLW Solicitors has helped Mr Hickey recover almost £40,000 in compensation which has helped towards much needed medical treatment, loss of earnings and repayments to the department for work and pensions (DWP). TLW solicitor Natalie Miller said: “Although the specifics of this case are unique to Mr Hickey, it is very common for people to not immediately realise the longer term implications following a serious accident to both the individual and to their families.

“Often it is not only the individual who suffers, but also the families struggling to get the correct rehabilitation, medical care, legal advice and financial support they may need even years after the incident.”

Hoping to return to work shortly after the incident, Mr Hickey realised he could no longer continue working in his role due to the psychological injury suffered from the accident and has since re-trained as a security officer.

Mr Hickey added: “For a long time I didn’t know what to do when I knew I wasn’t able to return to work. It was a very worrying time and I am very grateful to TLW for the guidance and advice they have given me throughout this process much of which my family and I had no idea about. I feel like I am finally getting my life back to normal.”

Believing that compensation is only part of the story, the serious injury team at TLW Solicitors are trained in rehabilitation to develop a greater understanding of the implications of a client’s injury and give them a greater degree of empathy with their situation.

TLW Solicitors also provides a comprehensive range of legal services across the UK to both individuals and business clients including professional negligence, personal injury, motoring offences and financial mis-selling.

www.tlwsolicitors.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Richard Crulley .