Security for accident victim in landmark case
A former bricklayer from Cornwall, who was paralysed after a car accident left him a paraplegic, has won a landmark legal battle to safeguard the annual payments he is entitled to receive for the rest of his life.
Anthony Bennett, now 27, who lives in Dobwalls, received confirmation in the High Court today (25 January 2012) that the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) will pay the annual payments (ordered by the High Court in 2010 as part of his compensation pay out) in the event that his insurance company is ever unable to do so.
Anthony’s legal team successfully argued that should the payments not be made, then on the current facts of this case, Anthony’s case would become an uninsured one and therefore eligible for MIB support.
Anthony’s solicitor, Stuart Brazington, a head and spinal injuries expert at Withy King, explained: “The insurance company has been forced to commit to making annual payments to Anthony during his lifetime. However, the insurance company involved was not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) at the time of Anthony’s accident which means his payments would not be met by the FSCS if there was a default. This exposed Anthony to great potential risk in the unlikely event that his insurance company ceased trading or defaulted on its obligations at any point in the future.
“We were concerned about protecting Anthony’s payments to ensure that he would continue to be able to pay for his living expenses, specialist equipment and round-the-clock care, particularly as he gets older when his needs will become even more acute.
“We are extremely pleased that the Motor Insurers Bureau has agreed to underwrite the risk and honour the 1999 agreement which allows periodical payments, based on the current facts of this case.”
Anthony said: “I am relieved that this is over and I can feel more secure about my future. It would have been awful to have lived with the knowledge that my payments might one day stop. Now I don’t have to worry about how I will afford to live or be cared for should something happen to the insurance company.”
Background to the case
Anthony Bennett, now 27, was a passenger in a car being driven by a friend, when it crashed into a boulder on the side of the A390, near Liskeard, Cornwall, on October 25, 2003.
Anthony was awarded £2.25 million compensation in 2010, representing his past and future losses as well as annual payments – known as periodical payments – for the rest of his life.
Anthony’s compensation and annual payments are protected by a Trust fund which is administered on his behalf and will be used to pay for his living expenses, specialist equipment and care for the rest of his life.