Crash victim awarded £1.25m plus care costs (From Bury Times)

Crash victim awarded £1.25m plus care costs

8:00am Thursday 18th March 2010

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A GRANDAD who suffered serious injuries after being knocked off his motorbike has received a massive compensation payout.

Stuart Bridge, aged 53, will receive a lump sum of £1.25 million, plus £57,500 a year, to pay for his care after suffering a brain injury. He was travelling to work along Deansgate, in Manchester city centre, at 6.45am on October 13, 2006, when he was hit by a Vauxhall Corsa.

He was thrown across the bonnet, before his head struck a bollard.

Despite wearing a helmet, Mr Bridge, who lives in Radcliffe, suffered severe head injuries which led to months of rehabilitation. He also had a fractured spine and pelvis, and was left with slurred speech, poor concentration and balance problems.

He was forced to give up his job as head green keeper at Withington Golf Club and his role as an amateur football referee in the Bury Sunday League.

Speaking on behalf of Mr Bridge and his wife Anne-Marie, Warren Maxwell, a lawyer at injury claims specialists Stewarts Law, said: “This crash has had a devastating effect on Mr Bridge and his family. Their lives will never be the same again.

“Mr Bridge is fully aware of his health problems and becomes angry, upset and frustrated by what has happened to him.”

After the accident, the driver of the car, Carli Bates, then aged 21, pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention and driving without insurance.

She was fined £200 and received six penalty points on her licence.

As she was uninsured, the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) accepted liability on her behalf. A claim against the MIB at the High Court last Wednesday ordered them to pay Mr Bridge a lump sum of £1.25 million, plus £57,500 a year.

It includes the cost of buying a new home and car, lost income and pension, and for the care, therapy and specialist equipment he will need. He will also receive payment for a Bolton Wanderers season ticket for life and a Skype-enabled computer so he can talk to his sister in New Zealand.

Mr Maxwell said: “For anyone, to go from enjoying an active and sociable lifestyle to one where you are dependent on others for almost all of your needs must be very difficult and traumatic to come to terms with. Mr Bridge has a tremendous support network around him in his wife and family and care team. The settlement received will go some way towards making Mr Bridge’s life as comfortable and enjoyable as possible.”

Mr and Mrs Bridge declined to comment.

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