This weekend has seen the airing of a documentary in which cricket legend Freddie Flintoff has spoken eloquently and with great honesty about the impact that his Top Gear crash and the life changing injuries he sustained have had on him.
For such a high profile person to speak with such candour is both refreshing and important. All too often the press report negatively about people who have sustained serious injuries when they bring a compensation claim – often focusing on the financial aspect rather than the lived ordeal that they are going through.
Philip Edwards, a serious injury specialist with Clarke Willmott said:-
“I watched the documentary about Freddie Flintoff’s response to his injuries with great interest – and his bravery and openness is to be welcomed. The struggles he describes represent what I hear from my clients on a day to day basis and those terrible life changing consequences are not spoken about enough – raising awareness of the real meaning of sustaining a serious injury is to be welcomed. Freddie’s comments about the support he needed are so relevant, we always work hard to ensure our clients access rehabilitation, psychological support and care and assistance to maximise their recovery – but the road is difficult and often long – and Freddie’s willingness to lay bare what he went through will help to explain why such support is vital. As Freddie said – life can change in an instant – it is important we help people to deal with that change”
Whilst compensation claims are important, it is to be remembered that their main function is to put people back in the position they would have been in, as best money can, had an individual not been injured. But, the key thing is for all the rehabilitation, treatment and support needed to be provided so people can come to terms with their ordeal and return to the best quality of life they can.
“I didn’t think I had it in me to get through” the ordeal.
“This sounds awful. Part of me wishes I’d been killed. Part of me thinks I wish I’d died,” he added.
“I didn’t want to kill myself. I don’t want to mistake the two things. I was not wishing, but thinking, this would have been so much easier…
“Now I try to take the attitude, you know what, the sun will come up tomorrow, and then my kids will still give me a hug, and I’m probably in a better place now.”