Medical Opinions Key to Success for Work Accident Compensation

Gary Milhulka sustained a shoulder injury when he slipped and fell on a roof at work.

As with a lot of men he thought he would shake it off and it would resolve itself in time.

When it didn’t get better he sought advice from his local solicitors in Galashiels, Iain Smith & Partners.

Life changing work injury

Gary Milhulka was a young, fit, hard working man. He was a member of the Territorial Army and had aspirations of joining the regular Army. He enjoyed the unusual hobby of racing Husky dogs.

Gary’s life was changed when he slipped and fell on the roof at work.

Forced to leave the Territorial Army on a medical discharge

Despite treatment, his shoulder injury worsened to the extent that he had to leave the Territorial Army on a medical discharge.

Limited to what he can do

Gary underwent a number of operations. His shoulder has stabilised but he will always be limited in what he can do.

Work insurer's denied liability

The defender’s agents did not admit liability. They argued that Gary’s accident had only resulted in a modest injury and that his ongoing problems were not related to the accident.

Medical opinion from five different specialists

Digby Brown sought medical opinion from five different specialists.The purpose of this was to produce a body of evidence to challenge the defenders experts on causation.  

Compensate no win no fee funding

Compensate funding allowed Digby Brown's personal injury solicitors to get the highly skilled professional advice to counter the arguments made by the defenders agents. 

The case settled for a six figure sum.

Gary was kind enough to say a few words about his experience with Digby Brown.

“I went to Iain Smith & Partners at the outset after my injury.They said that personal injury was not the kind of thing that they would take on but they knew the best people to deal with it. 

"I found Digby Brown professional. Everything was explained very clearly to me. If there was anything that I didn’t understand I felt I could ask without hesitation. 

"I never felt at any time that I could not phone or contact Digby Brown. I always knew that they would explain everything that I needed to know to me. 

"I felt that they were tenacious in their handling of my claim. I had to see a number of different Consultants for my injury. Through these medical reports I became more aware and had a greater understanding of my injury. 

"It is only now that I am beginning to get my fitness levels back up again. 

"Having these skilled experts examine me and provide reports have helped me as well as my lawyers.

"I am very satisfied with the outcome of the case and  I would recommend Digby Brown to others.”

Greig McDonell of Iain Smith & Partners made this comment:-

“We have found our Partnership with Digby Brown to be of great value, both to the firm and to our clients. 

"One of the requirements for the “modern day lawyer” is keeping abreast of the rapidly changing legislation and keeping up-to-date with new cases as they are decided.

"Whilst Iain Smith & Partners continue to provide a broad, general service to its clients, we consider that we best serve our clients in personal injury matters by utilising our connection with Digby Brown, a firm which specialises in this area. 

"Our clients benefit from the level of expertise available through Digby Brown, whilst remaining committed to Iain Smith & Partners. 

"Our client are dealt with in an efficient and friendly manner and they speak favourably of our ability to provide to our clients from our base in the Scottish Borders, such a specialist service.

"In a recent case which we referred to Digby Brown our client (Mr Mihulka) received a substantial award.

"Such  high value cases are extremely time consuming and can be very stressful to deal with on top of an already very heavy and  varied workload. 

"It is reassuring to know that we can call upon our colleagues at Digby Brown to assist us in such matters.”