Specialist law firm Novum, which has an office in Swindon, has won £5.5m in compensation for a man who sustained severe brain damage in a devastating powerboat accident when he was 13.
Ben Ridd had been competing in a race organised by the Royal Yachting Association in Portland Harbour, Dorset, when his boat, which was being driven by a 10 year old with limited racing experience was hit by another driven by an inexperienced 11 year old.
His skull was fractured in the collision, the force of which knocked off his helmet. He was given CPR at the scene and spent three weeks in a coma.
Novum, a national firm specialising in serious injury and medical negligence, took over Ben Ridd’s case after his first lawyers failed to get the Royal Yachting Society to admit liability for the accident for more than seven years.
This delay prevented Ben receiving vital therapy, rehabilitation and neuropsychological support.
Novum, which employs experts in complex brain and catastrophic injuries, obtained an admission of liability and interim payments to fund Ben’s rehabilitation and support programme. 
Associate solicitor Kim Chamberlain, pictured, who led the Novum team, said: “Achieving this award marks the beginning of a new chapter for Ben and his family, bringing to an end what has been an extraordinarily difficult nine and a half years for them all.
“It has been a lengthy battle to obtain a just settlement for Ben who requires support and rehabilitation for the remainder of his life due to his catastrophic injuries. There have been constant challenges throughout the life of this case and it is regretful that the Royal Yachting Association refused, for more than seven years, to admit liability for this devastating powerboat accident.
“Ben suffered serious life-threatening injuries and almost lost his life. That refusal to admit liability meant that for many years Ben did not have access to the specialist therapies, rehabilitation and support he desperately needed to enable him and his family to move on with their lives, adding to the ordeal already faced by him and his family.
“I am extremely pleased and reassured to know that Ben now has the security to meet his needs, allowing him to move forward and face the future with renewed confidence.”
Ben sustained massive haemorrhaging in his brain, a broken collarbone and a T9 fracture to the spine in the accident and has been left with a considerable neuropsychological disorder, including learning difficulties, speech and swallowing disorders and a disabling weakness down the left side of his body – injuries from which he will never fully recover.
