Scaffolder awarded £3million after serious road accident

A scaffolder left seriously disabled in a road crash has won £3million damages.

Neil Nicolson, 41, was riding a motorbike when it was in collision with a car in August 2002.

He was so badly injured that until recently he was only able to slightly move his neck, left thumb and forefinger.
At London's High Court, Sir John Blofeld ruled that staff nurse Brenda Willis, from Mitcham, Surrey, was largely responsible for the crash.

The collision occurred when Mrs Willis drove her Volkswagen Sharan out of a side road in Carshalton, Surrey, and crashed into Mr Nicolson's high performance 500cc Suzuki motorbike.

She was later convicted of driving without due care and attention, but her motor insurers denied civil liability.

Lawyers for Mr Nicolson successfully sued Mrs Willis' insurers and he was awarded £3million.

Mr Nicolson's counsel, Philip Glancy QC, said Mr Nicolson had been cared for at a specialist clinic in Edinburgh since the accident.

The money would be used to buy a specially converted bungalow near his family home where he will live with a round-the-clock team of carers, he added.

With some assistance, Mr Nicolson can now feed himself, guide his wheelchair for a few metres without being pushed and can walk short distances in a harness.

His mother, Betty Nicolson, said: "I am very happy that my boy is coming home at long last and that the money he is getting will give him a quality of life."