Achieving the impossible: Alisha and Nancy’s Story

In 2016, at the age of just 19, Alisha was involved in a traumatic car accident which she was fortunate to survive. She has no memory of what happened - but after the crash, her life changed forever.

Alisha’s mother, Nancy, arrived at the scene whilst her daughter was still trapped in the vehicle. She was rushed to hospital, sustained a broken shoulder, and was confined to a wheelchair. For a long time after the accident, she struggled mentally and emotionally - and was eventually diagnosed with a brain injury. 

Even as her bones began to heal, Alisha’s life did not return to normal. She struggled to work, and lost a great deal of her independence. With no external support available, Nancy became her daughter’s full time carer - which in turn, meant giving up her own job. The pair slowly fell into financial hardship, and were in danger of losing their beloved family farm which had always been their home. 

Initially, Alisha and Nancy had tried without success to obtain compensation from TAC for what had happened. Despite being visited by several  lawyers from other firms whilst in hospital, they were told repeatedly that any claim would be impossible, because the identity of the other driver was unknown.

Desperate, and on the brink of giving up, Alisha and Nancy eventually approached Jeremy King at Robinson Gill. This time, things were different. Whilst he acknowledged that the circumstances of the claim would make it unusually difficult, he was the first lawyer they had spoken to who did not believe that it was impossible.

“The biggest thing for me was that Jeremy actually listened to our story”. - Nancy

With some smart detective work, Jeremy and the family were able to track down enough witness evidence from the scene to submit a compelling case to TAC for common law compensation. To the family’s shock and relief, it only took one settlement conference (which acts as a form of mediation) for TAC to listen to their account, accept their claim and agree to a compensation payout.

Whilst Alisha will have to live with the effects of the accident for the rest of her life, the compensation she received has been life changing. She and Nancy now have financial support to cover her care needs, and have been able to remain in their family home. For them, simply being listened to was a turning point - allowing them to achieve an outcome which they would never have thought possible.