A Kidderminster man who suffered life-threatening injuries in a serious car accident has received a seven-figure settlement in damages.
Gio Desogus was travelling back from working as a self-employed mechanical engineer in Essex in November 2017 when he was struck head on by a 37 tonne HGV which had veered onto the wrong side of the road on the A13 in London.
Aged 26 at the time, Gio spent 10 days in a coma, underwent 14 operations and was based in three different hospitals.
He has been represented by the Personal Injury team at leading regional law firm Higgs LLP throughout his rehabilitation, including at the Joint Settlement Meeting with the defendant.
As well as suffering severe traumatic brain injuries and a collapsed lung in the accident, Gio was also left with fractures in his left arm, both legs and right metatarsal, as well as having multiple left rib fractures and nerve damage to the wrist.
Gio said: “Life was good before the accident. I was busy with work and had a good social life, playing football and being a drummer in two bands
“It all changed with that accident. On the day, I was told by my manager I could leave work early and I was heading back home for the weekend when the incident happened.
“At the time, my family were given very grim news and I wasn’t expected to pull through.
“A few months after the accident, I was contemplating what my future may be and there was a huge amount of uncertainty, worry and fear.
“I’ve had incredible support from family and friends and the work Higgs LLP have done for me has been fantastic.
“Higgs have been there for me every step of the way since the accident and helped in virtually every aspect of my recovery and rehabilitation."
Gio Desogus
“I will always be grateful for the support they have provided.
“From the position I was in, I’ve made a good recovery and, while I will never get close to my full mobility back, I’m able to live a relatively independent life.
“With the help of the team at Higgs, I’ve made great progress and I can look to the future with optimism.”
As well as working on the final settlement, Higgs assisted Gio with securing housing provision and immediate financial support, as well as appointing a rehabilitation case manager in the aftermath of the accident.
Steven Santy, a partner at Higgs LLP, said: “This was a very complex and challenging case to work on, not least because of the magnitude of Gio’s injuries and his rehabilitation requirements.
“We have helped Gio through every stage of both his physical and lifestyle recovery, whether that be securing interim payments for bills in the wake of the accident, securing housing or appointing and working alongside the rehabilitation case manager to help Go back to living as normal a life as possible.
“While securing a client’s financial futures is clearly an extremely important element, as a firm we are committed to so much more than that.
“We have a passion for helping our clients achieve the best possible recovery and assisting them every step of the way in doing that.
”Gio is a fantastic young man who has dealt with this life-changing incident superbly and we are proud to have played our part in helping him reach a position where he can look to the future with genuine optimism.”
