“Every day in the UK, five people die on roads and about 60 more are seriously injured”
There is no escaping the fact that road traffic collisions change lives, not only for the people involved but for the families and support networks that surround them. Brake are a charity that carry out amazing work in promoting road safety awareness including running Road Safety Week every November. However, the reality is that road collisions do happen and we need to be prepared to deal with the aftermath.
Head injuries
Head injuries are one of the most common and serious injuries occurring in road traffic collisions, usually caused by heads hitting dash boards and steering wheels. Often, this can lead to those involved having lasting brain damage and cognitive problems. Apart from medical treatment, sufferers will require help with decision making and dealing with day to day tasks.
What can be done to help?
What is a deputy?
A deputy is somebody who is appointed by the Court of Protection to make decisions on behalf of somebody who can no longer do this for themselves. Anybody can apply to be a deputy, but the size of the task must be considered before an application is made. Deputies will usually be either a family member or close family friend or a professional deputy.
Professional deputies
There may be occasions where there is nobody who is able to commit to being a deputy to the sufferer of a brain injury following a serious car crash. If this is the case, a professional deputy can be appointed to act in the best interests of the person.
A professional deputy can also be known as a ‘panel deputy’ whom the Court of Protection can choose to appoint. A panel deputy will be somebody with specialist knowledge in mental health law. Usually the panel deputy will have a number of deputyship clients for whom they manage the affairs of.
Ramsdens Solicitors have panel deputies who the Court of Protection has appointed on a number of matters. If a capacity assessment is carried out and a person is found to have no capacity to make decisions, a family member can also ask that an application is made for one of these deputies to become deputy to the person in question.
Types of deputyship
There are two types of deputyships:
- Property and financial affairs deputy- this type of deputyship is the most common. A deputy will be responsible here for the finances of the person including paying bills and managing bank balances as well as maintenance of property etc. This means that the person will not have to worry about paying bills and running out of money.
- Health and welfare deputy- This type of deputyship is less common and relates to decisions on medical treatment and how somebody is looked after
- There’s doubt whether decisions will be made in someone’s best interests, for example because the family disagree about care
- Someone needs to be appointed to make decisions about a specific issue over time, for example where someone will live
The court will usually only appoint a personal welfare deputy if:
- There’s doubt whether decisions will be made in someone’s best interests, for example because the family disagree about care
- Someone needs to be appointed to make decisions about a specific issue over time, for example where someone will live
Want more information?
If you would like to speak about deputyships with one of our team please contact us on 01422 330 700 and ask to speak to somebody from the Court of Protection team. Alternatively email willsandprobate@ramsdens.co.uk or text LAW to 67777 to book a free information session at any of our offices.