A Somerset lawyer who is dedicated to fighting for the rights of injured, vulnerable and disabled people has been appointed to a top role at a national campaign group.
Erin Darling-Finan has become a junior member of the executive committee at not-for-profit organisation APIL (the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers).
APIL campaigns on behalf of bereaved families and people injured due to negligence, and has members across the UK.
“I am passionate about making sure all victims of negligence have access to justice when, at their lowest, they need help the most. I specialise in working with vulnerable or disabled people who have been injured through no fault of their own,” said Erin.
She has successfully rebutted denials of responsibility from defendants who have tried to blame her clients’ vulnerabilities for their injuries. “These have included a blind man who was injured by a hazard while simply out walking. The defendant had inexplicably tried to argue it wasn’t reasonably foreseeable that a blind person would be walking in the area of the hazard,” she said.
Erin works as a personal injury executive for Amicus Law Solicitors in Ilminster, where she set up the firm’s personal injury department from scratch.
“The people APIL members help have suffered serious, often life-changing injuries. They have had the lives as they know them destroyed. The one thing these people wish above all else is that the terrible injuries they have suffered had never happened, and that they could go back to their old lives,” said Erin.
“They probably won’t be able to work ever again and will need every penny of their compensation to help pay towards their care. This can include things like proper fitting prosthetic limbs, which aren’t available on the NHS. They may need adaptations to their homes so they can do basic things, like take a shower or cook food in their kitchen, which are everyday things the rest of us take for granted,” she added.
Erin will work on a range of issues affecting the personal injury sector and injured people, including legal reforms and APIL’s campaigns.
“To be able to discuss reforms, discuss the needs of victims and their families, and to actually contribute to change and awareness will be incredible,” she said.
Erin has worked in the personal injury field since 2016 and earlier this year was shortlisted for the Chartered Legal Executive of the Year in the Devon and Somerset Law Society annual awards.