Comment: Who would pay a 7 figure PLUS sum if a Copeland Hackney working 142 Miles out of his area (WITHOUT notifing his Insurer) caused this Injury ?
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Bury man left paralysed in horror taxi crash likely to receive multi-million pound compensation
James Brewster

A young man from Bury who was “catastrophically” injured when a taxi skidded on ice is in line for multi-million-pound compensation.

Alex Pearson, then 23, had only been in the cab for two minutes when the driver lost control and smashed into an oncoming car in January 2010.

His head was propelled forward by the impact, at up to 70mph, and struck a structural pillar beside the windscreen.

Mr Pearson, of Tottington, Bury, suffered devastating spinal fractures and is now almost totally paralysed below the neck.

Tetraplegic and confined to a wheelchair, he will need 24-hour care for the rest of his life.

He sued the cab driver, Anwar Mohammed, of Heywood Street, Cheetham Hill, and his lawyers accepted primary liability for the accident.

But they successfully argued at Manchester High Court last year that Mr Pearson’s payout should be cut by 25% - because he was not wearing a seatbelt.

Judge Platts said that, if he had had a seatbelt on, he would have suffered only minor whiplash symptoms which would have cleared up within six months.


Challenging that decision today at the Court of Appeal, Christopher Melton QC, said the 25% reduction was ‘extremely harsh’ on Mr Pearson.

He had been trying to put on his seatbelt when the collision happened and was ‘very, very unlucky’ that his head hit the pillar, rather than the softer windscreen.

Describing it as an “exceptional case”, the QC said the cab driver was “plainly far more blameworthy” than his passenger.

Refusing permission to appeal, however, Lord Justice Kitchin, said Judge Platts’ decision could not be faulted.

Had Mr Pearson been wearing a seatbelt, he would have suffered only “trivial” injuries, the judge told the court in London.

“This was a case where the failure to wear a seatbelt did, for all intents and purposes, make all the difference”.

Mr Pearson’s appeal against Judge Platts’ decision stood “no reasonable prospect of success”, he concluded.

The amount of Mr Pearson’s damages has yet to be finally assessed.

However, given the extent of his care needs, his payout is bound to run well into seven figures, even after the 25% reduction.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/bury-man-left-paralysed-horror-9707856