The more than one million Romanians living in the UK have led some law firms to set up special departments for this community, most of the lawyers being Romanian law graduates from UK universities. The strongest such company is Levenes, with a huge success rate in obtaining compensation for Romanians who suffer personal injuries (accidents at work, road accidents, accidents in public places, accidents abroad or as a result of medical negligence. Equally important for Romanian clients is the fact that the firm operates on the principle „We don’t win, you don’t pay us!”
Levenes caught our attention with a lawsuit it won at the end of last year in which it obtained a huge compensation for a Romanian man who suffered comatose brain injuries. It’s worth millions of pounds! From this trial we have discovered many similar cases resulting in large compensation awards for Romanian clients, who often lose hope that they will get justice, mistakenly believing that access to the legal system is difficult in a foreign country, which is why we conducted a short interview with the head of the department dedicated to Romanians, Anamaria Niță.
Since when was the department for Romanian clients set up?
I have been working in this company since 2010 and when I joined there was already a legal advisor who started 6 months before me. I took over the department for Romanian speaking clients since June 2018 and since then I have managed with the team I have built to help hundreds if not thousands of clients with severe injuries, people who needed to be represented in order to get legal redress.
We recently discovered, and few people know, that you have obtained a huge £11 million compensation award for a Roman man who suffered an accident. Tell us how this case came to you and how the „fight” you won for him went.
The case came to us when the family in Romania contacted the UK Consulate which has a list of UK lawyers. Fortunately my name starting with „A”, made it so that my details are on the first or if not the 2nd page of these 16 page lists.
I spoke to the family for a few weeks before they decided to sign with us, they were in discussions with other lawyers. Levenes arranged for his family to fly and stay in the UK so they could have regular contact with him.
The case lasted a number of years, given the complexity of the injuries and the number of experts required to conclude the case, the experts provided the court with evidence as to our client’s injuries and needs, and a total of 11 experts were instructed specifically for the claimant and 11 for the defendants, who at some point met and produced joint evidence, the case could not be concluded until there was some certainty as to the remaining years of the client’s life.
Throughout the case, the legal teams of both parties met from time to time to discuss the case. The parties met to reach a common understanding on the amount of compensation, but this failed initially, in fact it failed in the first 2 meetings.
Finally the insurers made a considerable offer. This was considered with the help of a specialist financial adviser and a senior adviser and as a result it was possible to reach a settlement.
As the client could not decide whether the offer should be accepted, the court was asked to approve the settlement, which it did.
The settlement is sufficient to fund the client’s living needs, whether or not he remains in the UK or returns to Romania.
We also had some challenges in this case, one of which arose when discussing the possibility of the client returning to Romania, and this involved considering how to calculate the cost of care and other expenses and losses in Romania, should these arise. We also used a Romanian lawyer who produced a report for the court explaining the client’s rights and the state’s duties towards our client in the event that he returned to Romania for the rest of his life.
Are you still in contact with the client? How is he living his life now?
After staying at different rehabilitation centres, the client was moved to his current placement, where he has round-the-clock care and where he is happy and continues his life in peace and harmony.
Our client cannot make decisions for himself or manage the money, a deputant has been appointed by the court. Since, the client could not decide whether the compensation amount received should be accepted, the case was appealed to the court, which approved the conclusion of the case.
Romanians generally avoid using lawyers, mainly for fear of costs. Do you have standard fees or do you get your fee as a „success fee”?
With a free initial consultation, our specialist personal injury lawyers offer Romanian citizens and beyond legal advice on ‘no win, no fee’ compensation. At the end of the case, a success fee payable by the client is charged. This is usually calculated as a proportion of the compensation the client receives if the case is successful.
What „area” of coverage do you have for the UK Romanians? Do you have territorial offices?
We cover the whole of England and we even travel to the client’s home when they are unable to travel, we visit clients in hospital, at work and the main office of the firm is in London. Our offices are located close to public transport and are specially adapted for people with disabilities.
We assume that the huge success you have had in your £11 million case has brought you even more clients. Do you cope with the files received or do you have certain selection criteria?
We are indeed a successful firm, Levenes is recognised as one of the best law firms in the UK specialising in compensation claims.
There is a selection process, we obtain full details from the potential client, weigh the chances of winning by drawing up a risk assessment and after analysing all the information we decide whether to take on a particular case. We do not consider cases where the percentage of winning does not exceed 51% and generally personal injuries are not complex enough.
There are cases where the prospects of success may change during the course of a claim, for example after disclosure of documents by defendants or exchange of witness statements. If the prospects of success diminish we are obliged to inform the client that they may also seek a second opinion on the claim.
Examples of cases I have won in the past:
☛ Double lower limb amputation for a construction worker hit by a vehicle while working on a motorway – damages of £7 million
☛ Left lower limb amputation due to injuries sustained in a road traffic accident – damages and costs of £500,000
☛ Lis Franc injury (a dislocated fracture of the middle leg) due to a workplace accident – damages of £300,000
☛ Head and spinal injuries due to a forklift accident at work – damages of £215,000
☛ Depressed skull fracture caused by an accident at work – £200,000 damage
☛ Knee injury caused by an accident at work – damages of £150,000
☛ Ground worker electrocuted – damages of £200,000
☛ Penetrating eye injury caused by a construction site accident – £70,000 damage
☛ Head, hip and leg fractures due to a road traffic accident for a passenger not wearing a seatbelt – damages of £67,500
☛ Fall from a height resulting in a fractured heel – damages of £55,000
☛ Injury on construction site resulting in leg injury – damages of £50,000
☛ Plasterer who fell from defective ladders at work resulting in a fractured left tibia and fibula – £50,000 damages
☛ Partial amputation of index finger due to accident on railway site – £38,000 damage
☛ Circular saw laceration to a carpenter – £22,000 damage
☛ Lead poisoning case in a scrap yard – £17,000 damage
