Olympic Champion’s Head Injury
James Cracknell the Olympic gold medallist rower suffered a serious head injury in July 2010 when, whilst cycling in the USA, he was hit by the wing mirror of a truck travelling at over 65 mph.
Rehabilitation
James underwent a lengthy recovery from his skull fracture, subarachnoid haemhorrhage, subdural haematoma and frontal lobe contusions. Following rehabilitation he regained the ability to walk, talk, recognise his family and day to day memory. When he past a Driving Ability assessment he also regained his licence in June 2011 and his life was returning to normal. That is until he suffered a seizure at home in October and whilst fortunately it does not appear to have caused any long term health effects, he lost his driving licence for a further 12 months.
DVLA
James’ experience illustrates one of the most common debilitating aspects of head injury, its impact on the victim’s ability to drive and so their independence. The DVLA must be notified when anyone suffers a seizure to decide if they can still drive. In straightforward cases the DVLA may take 3 weeks to decide, but can take up to 3 months if further investigations are required. As well as notifying the DVLA, a head injury victim must also notify their motor insurers of the injury and epilepsy.
New Licence
Should you need to re-apply for a licence then you can only do so after having been free of seizures for 1 year and, if granted, it will only be for a short term until having been free of seizures for 5 years, when a long term licence can be issued.
Help whilst unable to Drive
Whilst unable to drive due to seizures, you may be eligible for a Disabled Person’s Railcard, free bus fares and also may be able to claim the additional costs of travel to work under the Government’s Access to Work Scheme.
HeadinjuryUK
If you or someone you know has been affected by any of the above issues, following a traumatic brain injury due to someone else’s fault, HeadinjuryUK’s specialist solicitors may be able to help, please contact Andy Shaw for advice.
