Keith Carter & Associates have been providing expert evidence for head injuries and other PI cases since 1984.
During this time we have completed over 13,000 reports for 1,800 firms of solicitors representing claimants from over 30 different countries. We have built up an excellent database of employment evidence which provides the essential foundation for our work. Reports are undertaken for claimants, defendants and, increasingly, by joint instruction.
We are Law Society checked and are members of both the British Academy of Experts and the Expert Witness Institute. We write regularly for legal journals. With head injuries there is no pattern of likely outcome as there is a broad range of post-accident impairments, from the catastrophic to very subtle but enduring.
Although claimants in the latter category may return to work/study, they may be unable to perform at their previous level. These cases therefore need particular careful analysis in order to assess lost earnings. In these situations we need full post-accident medical reports besides interviews with the claimant and family in order to produce an accurate assessment.
Meeting clients’ needs
Broad experience: we have covered head injury claims for a variety of occupations and levels of impairment.
A range of outcomes: where a claimant’s rehabilitation is incomplete and therefore uncertain, we include a range of possible outcomes in our report. These would reflect, for example, different occupations which may be available to the claimant according to the eventual level of recovery. Offering a range of scenarios is particularly relevant in head injury cases as rehabilitation is a long process and so cases are normally prepared before recovery is complete.
Effect of impairment on ability to work: we have developed our own systematic approach to head injuries whereby evidence from medical and employment experts is linked to predict the claimant’s capacity for employment. Firstly, we analyse the claimant’s pre-accident employment to determine “job components” and the particular skills required for each aspect of work. Then we look at doctors’ assessments of the impact of the claimant’s injury on his/her ability. In this way, the views of medical experts can be applied to the specific skills necessary to perform a job and thereby the impact of the injury on the claimant’s employment prospects can be evaluated.
Solicitors who have instructed us in head injury cases include:
ASB Law Balfour & Manson Berrymans Lace Mawer Colemans CTTS Dechert GLP Halliwell Landau Irwin Mitchell Kingsley Napley Lawford Kidd Morton Fraser Pengillys Robson McLean WS Stewarts Talbot Walker The Treasury Solicitor Thompsons
Information normally required from instructing solicitor:
Full medical reports, including information from neurologists / psychologist, etc.
Statement from claimant, including information on education, training and employment history
Other statements relevant to claimant’s employment prospects, eg, from family members of employers
Details of claimant’s gross earnings 13 weeks prior to the injury/incident
Claimant’s accounts if self-employed
KCA questionnaire on employment
We are always happy to discuss how we may assist in a particular case.
Please contact us on:
Telephone: 020 7697 1500
Fax: 020 7700 3819
e-mail: info@keithcarter.co.uk
web: www.keithcarter.co.uk
