NOVUM Law, a firm of personal injury lawyers based in Swindon, has won a £1m High Court settlement for a young man who suffered a severe brain injury after being hit by a car in Essex as he walked home from school in 2007, aged 13.

His mother, Lisa Walsh, spoke of her relief after lawyers from Novum secured a compensation package.

Alby Dobinson, now 23, was a happy, football-mad teenager, progressing well at school when he was hit by a car as he went to cross the westbound carriageway of the A12 from the central reservation on his way home from Shenfield High School, Essex on the last day of term before the Christmas holidays.

The car threw Alby throwing into the air and he landed five feet further along the road beneath the crash barrier. Alby sustained a severe brain injury, a broken leg, broken elbow and he serious internal bruising to his lungs and pancreas.

He was transferred to Great Ormond Street’s intensive care unit then neurology ward, before being finally discharged from a rehabilitation centre in 2009, nearly 20 months after the accident.

Alby’s case, handled by another firm of solicitors, was initially unsuccessful. Alby's mum was then recommended to Novum Law, which specialises in complex cases involving severe brain injuries.

Brain injury lawyer Huw Ponting and his team investigated the accident, getting witness and police statements and liaising with medical experts. A trial was set to start next week, but the defendant’s solicitors offered to participate in a joint settlement meeting and Alby’s compensation package was agreed.

Mr Ponting said: “This was a very difficult and complex case for everyone involved. The accident has had a profound impact on Alby’s life and the lives of his loved ones

"A full 10 years on and he continues to suffer from the effects of the severe brain injury he sustained. His life will be very different from the one his mother Lisa envisaged for him.

“We are delighted with today’s settlement. Lisa now has peace of mind that she has the means to pay for the specialist therapies that Alby will need on an ongoing basis."