With his wife by his side, Bruce says that he remembers little about the accident and the immediate aftermath but does remember the scale of treatment he received from medics at the Royal London Hospital, for which he will be forever grateful.
Bruce's treatment at the RLH was cut short because of COVID and he was released home early. While careful to point out that he is in no way criticising the NHS, he says his treatment simply stopped abruptly, with little or no follow up.
Judee explains that when they were leaving the hospital, they were advised to find a lawyer to pursue a claim against the insurer of the driver who injured him. They admit that because they've never done anything like that before, they dragged their feet and delayed. When they eventually did contact Jill Greenfield, she was very clear that Bruce's brain injury was going to need long and specialist rehabilitation and care. It was at that point, Bruce says, he finally realised the seriousness of his condition.
Once she began Bruce's claim, Jill recovered interim payments to immediately fund therapy and treatments during lockdown. Bruce now calls his therapists his 'heroes' and admits he would have been nowhere near where he is today without this help.
"What you need is a team in place," he says. "A mixture of NHS and private care that fills in the gaps and ensures you get the right treatment quickly. And you definitely need it sooner rather than later," he says.
Both Judee and Bruce attribute the amazing care they received from the trauma team at the RLH for saving Bruce's life. The end their Zoom call thanking Jill for getting in place the right package in place and the hospital profusely for their care. "I also want to apologise," Bruce laughs, "for being a grumpy, horrible man to look after!"
Jenny Buchanan's client David Bowry is similarly complimentary about the amazing care he received at the RLH after a driver knocked him off his bike and drove over his chest. "All the people who looked after me, all the faces," he says "I just want them to see me now and say, look, this is what you do…"
David was also advised by his doctors to pursue a claim to fund his rehabilitation. "I had no idea how I was going to live with constant pain, without being to life my arm above my head, perform usual daily tasks. No idea. And then the reality also kicked in that I wasn't going to be able to join the new job I had lined up for some considerable time. That's when it hits you… how am I going to survive financially?"
David says Jenny assured him that he'd be looked after and that was vital to his recovery. Interim funds supported him financially, while also paying for strength and conditioning, yoga and cognitive behavioural therapy to help him reassess his life. And, importantly for someone who had been a competitive triathlete, David received specialist sport rehabilitation that has helped him, three years later, at least begin to compete in some cycling events again.
"I seriously attribute the help I received from Jenny and from Fieldfisher in getting me where I am today," he says.