Steve Killalea KC and Stephen Cottrell Secure Final Settlement in Family Tragedy

BGP (By Her Mother and Litigation Friend CBP) v Stephenson.

The Claimant, then aged 2 years, sustained catastrophic brain injuries in a road traffic accident in 2008, in which her mother also sustained multiple catastrophic orthopaedic injuries. Steve Killalea KC had settled the mother’s claim on a full liability basis in 2014 for a multi-million pound capital sum and six figure PPO.

On 10th November 2023 the High Court in Sheffield (HHJ Robinson sitting as a High Court Judge) approved the settlement of the child Claimant’s claim in the sum of £9 million plus an indexed PPO of £140,000 per annum for life. The settlement, made on a provisional basis with the Claimant able to return to Court should she develop epilepsy in her lifetime, capitalised at approximately £19.5 million.

The Claimant, now aged 17 years, will always require care and support, will never work, and will never have financial capacity.

The case was complicated by arguments over the potential overlap between the care and case management needs (past and future) of the Claimant and her mother.

The case was also unusual in representing a partial “hybrid” approach to apportioning the costs of future care and case management, mainly through the PPO, but also, in part, in the capital sum.

Steve Killalea KC and Stephen Cottrell were instructed by Ben Priestley of Serious Injury Law, Bolton.

Back to News

Additional Information