Crash man gets a ticket for life (From This Is Lancashire)

Crash man gets a ticket for life

5:20pm Saturday 13th March 2010 in

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A LIFELONG Bolton Wanderers fan will receive a season ticket for life as part of a massive £1.25 million compensation payout.

Stuart Bridge, aged 53, will also get a multi-million pound settlement to pay for his care after suffering a serious brain injury.

The grandfather-of-one was knocked off his motorbike in Deansgate, in Manchester city centre, in October, 2006, as he travelled to work.

Mr Bridge, who lives in Radcliffe, suffered severe head injuries and a fractured spine and pelvis. He 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 being an amateur football referee in 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 this week 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 Wanderers season ticket for life and a Skype-enabled computer to use to 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.