The team is headed by Nicola Bickham. Jonathan Peacock is also a Partner in the team; between them they have recently settled four multi-million pound damages claims on behalf of seriously injured claimants, recovering £13.5m in damages for those clients.
In addition, there are four qualified solicitors and three paralegals. All qualified members of the team hold APIL accreditation. Augustines are also accredited by Headway as being specialist solicitors who have experience in dealing with brain injury cases.
The team deals with a wide range of personal injury claims including:
There have been substantial changes in the personal injury market over the last few years, with the introduction of portals and fixed costs. Augustines are considered one of the most experienced teams and well regarded teams in the South West. Though the team are located in Bristol, they also service VWV's offices offices in Birmingham, London and Watford; clients are both nationwide and international.
The team pride themselves on client careand are regularly referred work from other solicitors and previous clients due to their reputation.
Augustines were referred a claim to act for a claimant whose partner was tragically killed as a result of a road traffic accident. He was stationary at traffic lights when a lorry ploughed into the back of his vehicle.
Augustines made a successful claim against the lorry driver's employer's insurers, pursuant to the Fatal Accidents Act 1976, on the basis that she was dependent on her partner and that they had been living with each other for more than three years.
The claimant claimed for loss of income, loss of services and a general amount for the loss of her partner. A six figure compensation sum was recovered
Another example is a medical negligence claim that was referred to us. The claimant had suffered a very nasty injury as a result of a medical procedure not being carried out correctly. They suffered terrible facial injuries which resulted in them also suffering a psychological injury and being unable to return to work. As a result of the claim they were able to recover treatment costs not available on the NHS. They received a six figure compensation sum.
If you'd like to receive fee share for a personal injury case, we can only pay if the client themselves gets in touch with us - please read the Personal Injury leaflet and ask your client to contact a member of the VWV Approach team.