We were instructed on behalf of a Claimant who was an architect in a large professional practice. As a result of a road traffic accident he had suffered a personal injury and we were instructed as forensic accountants to calculate his loss of earnings.
As was to be expected for a professional man, he made every attempt to get back to work and was back in the office very shortly after his accident. However, he was not able to function at his best. The matter was complicated by the mix of some very large and relatively small professional assignments, some pre-accident poor results and the closure of a loss-making side business.
Following a lengthy meeting with the Claimant, we identified a number of key performance indicators that showed how the areas of the business where he was involved had deteriorated during the post-accident period and how these had improved as he had got better. Our figures showed a net loss of just over £150,000.
Following the preparation of a joint forensic accountants’ statement, the matter could not be resolved and just prior to going to Court the Defendant offered £20,000 in respect of loss of earnings and Counsel for the Claimant advised not to settle for under £45,000.
The matter came in front of the Judge and, following his consideration of the forensic accountancy evidence, found that my approach fairly set out the Claimant’s losses and he awarded £115,000 in respect of the personal injury claim. The Claimant was not only delighted but was also intrigued at the way that we had analysed his business and was sure this would help him in the future.