I was at home one weekend when a suffered a violent headache. It came out of nowhere. I was sick and fell to the floor. I got myself to the hospital and was seen in A & E. I was told it was a migraine, nothing more, and given some painkillers to take home with me.

I got worse over the next few days. My father found me at home a few days later slurring my words and disorientated (although I do not remember it as my memory of the events has gone now). We went back to the hospital and this time I was scanned and told that the violent headache I suffered a few days before was in fact a haemorrhage. I was told that I needed to be admitted for emergency surgery to stop the bleeding. Unfortunately before the operation happened I fell into a coma before the surgeons could operate. Eventually I came out of the coma and I was taught to walk and talk again before being sent to a nursing home to recover. For a long time I was unable to deal with my affairs and my father did it for me. I was also unable to go back to work as an electronics engineer for a long time and even when I got back to work I could not do my old job as it was too much for me.

My family were unhappy that the hospital had discharged me when I was suffering from a brain bleed. My brother researched local solicitors expert in dealing with brain injury cases and he contacted Stamp Jackson & Procter after looking at their website. When I was up to it my father took me to see Neil Holland. It was the first of many face to face meetings we had. We felt happy and instructed Neil to look into my case.

We were worried about legal costs but Neil was able to use an existing insurance policy so it cost me nothing to get started. The insurance cover ran out but it did not matter because Stamp Jackson & Procter offered to pay for all the experts expenses and act for me on a No Win No Fee instead. In the end I did not have to pay any legal costs.

To help assess my case we put together a team of experts, some of whom had a worldwide reputation, who had decades of experience in neurosurgery and rehabilitation after brain injury. Tests were done to show which parts of my brain were not functioning properly so that we could work out what type of help and support I needed. Neil and his team spent a long time taking witness statements from family, old friends and work colleagues to help explain the test results and to prove what I was like before the bleed. After this assessment process I had a much better understanding of why my brain was not functioning like it used to and why I needed help and support to function independently. I would not have known this if it were not for the detailed assessment process I went through.

Neil introduced me to the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust whom are experts in helping people recover from and cope with brain injury. By then I understood that I needed some support so I agreed to work with a case manager from BIRT. They gave me the support and prompting I needed to function better independently and I have used them ever since.

Neil spoke to me about the difficulties with my case and we had face to face meetings with all of the experts as well as the specialist barrister we hired to advise on the case. I was advised on the strengths and weaknesses and told how much my case was worth.

We put all of this to the Hospitals solicitors. They admitted that they should not have discharged me but said that their experts had advised them that all the damage had been caused to my brain by then so they would not be offering me any compensation. My team of experts disagreed with this and said we should keep fighting so Neil started Court action for me.

The hospital’s solicitor’s experts asked if they could do tests on me which I agreed to but I was astonished when the results came back and said there was very little wrong with my brain. It made me angry that they were trying to paint me this way. Neil and my team of experts fought for me and spent more time gathering evidence to disprove the defence case.

The hospital’s solicitors eventually agreed to meet us to discuss settlement terms but the offers they made at the meeting were below what Neil and my barrister had told me to expect. It was a lot of money but I was advised to keep pushing for a fair settlement or take the case to trial. I knew my team believed in my case.

A few days before the trial was due to start Neil called to say the Hospital’s solicitors had now agreed to pay the terms I had asked for months ago at the meeting and did I want to settle. I did not want a trial and was more than happy with the terms.

My story with Stamp Jackson & Procter does not end there. Neil suggested that I should protect my compensation as it had to last a long time. He gave me some advice on how to do that. I discussed what to do with it with my family, banks and advisors. I thought about it for quite a while. In the end I asked Neil and Stamp Jackson & Procter if they would look after it for me because I trusted them. I was advised to put the money in Trust. I asked my brother and Neil to be trustees for me which they agreed to do. I know my money is safe and my family are helping look after it for me.