How Fletchers Can Help After a Brain or Spinal Injury

Suffering from a brain or spinal injury is life-changing. From the impact it has on daily life to the emotional toll of uncertainty, it’s an immeasurable shock to all involved. 

At Fletchers, we know that brain injury support needs to go far beyond covering just the medical challenges. You and your family deserve practical, financial, and emotional guidance to help you move forward.

With nearly 40 years of experience, we know the complexities in giving support for families affected by brain injuries and provide specialised support for compensation, rehabilitation, and long-term recovery. 

In this guide, we’ll explain the many underestimated support requirements, so you have the information to make the right decision for you and your family. 

Why we support the whole family after a brain or spinal injury

A brain or spinal injury profoundly disrupts the life of the entire family. 

Starting with reduced independence, every aspect of family life changes. Suddenly, a parent or carer may now require constant support, while others may have to step up and handle increased household, financial, and advocacy responsibilities.

Then there’s the impact on work and education. For the injured, their employment may be lost or hard to sustain, while family caregivers also face disruption in their own jobs and ambitions (almost 50% of unpaid carers report at least one adverse health effect as a result of their efforts). 

No two experiences are the same, which is why Fletchers always start by listening. With this approach, we can understand the unique ways your family has been affected, so you can get the support you deserve. 

The hidden impact behind brain and spinal injuries

In many brain and spinal injury cases, the most difficult aspects aren’t immediately visible. 76% of brain injury survivors have difficulties in daily life because of the misunderstood nature of brain injury.

As a result, the injured individual may experience complex behavioural and mood changes, which can leave them feeling isolated and vulnerable. These changes can make it difficult to return to work or education, while feeling as though one’s personality has shifted. 

In spinal cord injuries, chronic pain, changes in bowel or sexual function, blood pressure instability, and ongoing secondary complications can be as significant as the adaptation to limited mobility. 

It’s critical to all involved that their legal guidance comes from a specialist who deeply understands more than the fundamentals, so that no part of their future is overlooked.

Why specialist spinal and brain injury support matters

Physical and psychological trauma rarely end when a patient leaves the hospital after a serious brain or spinal cord injury. Sadly, many survivors face long-lasting cognitive difficulties, rehabilitation, and the need for ongoing care. 

Many solicitors will solely seek compensation and then move on. At Fletchers, we strive to support you throughout this process and beyond. 

As specialists in brain and spinal cord injury support, we provide a holistic approach to help survivors move forward and rebuild their lives. Our resources allow us to provide legal, medical, rehabilitative, and practical support. 

For example, after suffering a traumatic brain injury in a car accident, we supported a client to coordinate a long-term rehabilitation plan, including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and psychological care. 

Alongside her six-figure settlement, this approach helped her regain considerable independence, mobility, and access ongoing support to manage her life with her injuries. 

How Fletchers provides spinal and brain injury support beyond legal claims

Fletcher’s takes a holistic approach to brain injury support, believing a client needs legal support that focuses on making an impact and not just a settlement figure. 

1. Easing financial pressure and securing stability

In the immediate aftermath of an accident, many survivors face severe stress over how they can possibly move forward financially.

We recognise this as a priority, given that the need for care, equipment, and housing adaptation will not wait. 

For example, in one traumatic brain injury case, we arranged for interim payments for a woman who suffered a brain injury in a car accident. These payments provided essential financial stability, so she could pay her bills and receive private rehabilitation, before she was later awarded a significant settlement. 

2. Helping clients regain everyday independence

A rebuilt life should include as much independence as possible. That starts with preparation, before you’ve been discharged.  

We aim to cover adaptations and accessibility solutions that are necessary for everyday independence. In Paul’s case, we helped our client gain a specially adapted home, even working with builders to ensure the new accommodation was fully suitable. 

In another spinal injury case, our client secured interim payments to fund accommodation and equipment before she was discharged.

3. Rehabilitation is the foundation of recovery.

A true spinal or traumatic brain injury support plan must consider that rehabilitation is a long-term, evolving process. We know that the rehabilitation process starts from day one and could be ongoing for several years. 

We work to ensure our clients receive early support, so that they can begin immediately, and not years later when a full settlement has been secured.

In the case of an injured biker, our solicitor requested immediate intensive rehabilitation to be funded by the other party. The funds lasted nearly two years, allowing the survivor to gain private treatment, avoiding NHS delays. 

4. Supporting physical, cognitive, and emotional recovery

Rehabilitation is rarely limited to physical trauma. After a brain or spinal injury, survivors face cognitive and emotional changes that require guidance to adapt to and understand. 

Concentration, processing, memory, problem-solving, and personality changes are all common. Some of these may be the direct result of the physical trauma, but others may be caused by the emotional toll and changes in your life. 

Where necessary, we seek therapy, counselling, and assistive technology to help survivors adapt. In a road incident case, our specialist case manager, Hannah Clarke, arranged neuropsychology and psychological support to help with cognitive and mental health. 

5. Connecting clients with long-term support networks

Relating to people who have been through similar experiences can help survivors of brain or spinal injuries feel less alone. 

We’ve helped our clients find psychological support, so they can share their experiences, learn from each other, and join communities that prevent them from becoming isolated.

6. Retraining, returning to work, and rebuilding purpose

Returning to work, whether through your old job or by retraining, can help regain a sense of independence and purpose. 

Our solicitors have helped clients find new careers in adapted work environments, alongside new career paths. While not everyone can return to their former career, they can rebuild confidence through new pursuits. 

For example, our client Jack sustained a serious spinal cord injury in a car accident, affecting his mobility. Through our guidance and his settlement, he was able to regain independence at home, pass his driving test, and soon join a wheelchair basketball team.

Our brain injury and spinal injury support case studies

With nearly 40 years of experience, we’ve handled hundreds of brain injury and spinal cord injury cases. Here are a few examples: 

Rebuilding independence after a tragic road accident

We helped the victim of a catastrophic road traffic collision secure a six-figure settlement after she was left with the tragic loss of her partner and a life-changing brain injury. 

This ensured her comprehensive rehabilitation programme and long-term care and support, which she urgently needed. Alongside her remarkable strength, the support has helped our client rebuild her life, become more independent, and adapt her life and home. 

A swift resolution to a complex spinal injury case

After our client was tragically rendered a paraplegic in a road traffic accident (as a pedestrian), we secured a significant settlement that she desperately needed to adapt to her accommodation, which was simply unsuitable. 

We worked hard to make short-term accommodation adaptations before securing the funds required to buy a suitable, accessible home. This allowed our client to return home as soon as possible, alongside the support and rehabilitation necessary to help her move forward with her disability. 

How Fletchers works with families throughout the process

We recognise that the family members of seriously injured loved ones put an immense amount of trust in the solicitors they reach out to. 

Every level of our team supports the entire family and not just the injured. 

With every step of the process, from our initial talks to our ongoing advice, we promise transparent communication and advocacy, so you can make the decisions that are best for your family. 

Our team handles the burden of paperwork, evidence, and negotiations, but believes that to be the bare minimum. In addition, we provide a continuity of care, with practical guidance on rehabilitation, financial advice, and community support. 

Contact our spinal and brain injury support legal experts

At Fletchers, we’re lucky to be the home of some of the UK’s leading brain and spinal injury accident experts, including Charlotte Mackulin, Chris McKinney, and Nicholas Tubb. 

The track record and experience of our team ensures that you receive the finest level of legal advice, personalised support, and integrity from start to finish. Our team is renowned for priding itself on the level and quality of service it provides. 

If your family requires brain injury support or spinal cord injury support, we welcome you to contact us today for a free consultation with no obligations to make a decision. Please call 0330 013 02470330 175 8740 or contact us online.