Fighting to raise awareness

A solicitor who was paralysed in an accident has a special relationship with clients

An ill-fated trip to a rugby match at Twickenham three years ago left a young personal injury (PI) solicitor with a greater understanding of his clients, writes Michael Gerrard.

That October day in 1999, Ed Fletcher, then aged 24, and both a motorbike and rugby union enthusiast, was motorcycling towards the stadium to watch England in the World Cup.

Only days earlier, he had come to London to establish a branch office for Fletchers, a firm established specifically to handle PI cases arising from motorcycle accidents.

Unfortunately, he came off his bike while going over a sleeping policeman and hit a parked car, breaking his back and ribs.

Now he is paralysed from the waist downwards, but finds his condition has positive aspects.

He says: 'In my line of work, this has allowed me empathy with my clients, who are often wheelchair-bound or amputees.

'My condition has given me an invaluable understanding of what clients are going through.'

Despite the fact that most of those he works with have come to terms with his condition, and advances such as telephone conferencing have aided his work, Mr Fletcher finds that more needs to be done to aid the disabled solicitor.

He still requires the help of ushers to get into court and finds much ignorance over disability in the profession.

Mr Fletcher says: 'Law firms need to be educated in awareness of the nature of disability.

I am not so interested in people building ramps for me as in changing people's views on the disabled.'