£1m payout 'may be too low' for A38 crash victim
A FORMER factory worker who suffered brain damage in a car crash which claimed the life of an ex-Derbyshire policeman is to be paid more than £1m in damages.
Phil Parker was a highly-skilled worker before the crash on the A38 in 2005.
But a court heard yesterday that Mr Parker now works part-time stacking shelves at a supermarket. His life will never be the same as a result of his injuries.
Mr Parker was due to receive the payout yesterday after a hearing at London's High Court but the case was adjourned when a judge raised concerns about the amount of compensation, saying it should possibly be higher.
Mr Justice Jack raised concerns over the proposed settlement and said he was not sure whether Mr Parker's loss of earnings claim had been properly addressed.
Damages were calculated on the basis he was earning about £25,000 a year before the accident.
A month before the crash Mr Parker had been made redundant from his £32,000-a-year job as a tool setter at a plastics factory.
His loss of earnings was partly calculated on the new job he got at a Lichfield factory, paying about £20,000-a-year, but Mr Justice Jack said Mr Parker might have been capable of taking home a much bigger pay packet.
"I don't think I should approve this settlement, I have an anxiety about how the future loss of earnings has been calculated," he said. "It should reflect his well-established ability to earn in excess of £30,000 rather than being based on the lower pay he received for one month."
Mr Parker was a back-seat passenger in the car, which was being driven by former policeman James Storie, 23.
The friends were driving home from Derby, where they had been at the 21st birthday party of Sophie Hill, also a passenger in the car.
Mr Storie died instantly when he lost control on the A38 near Egginton and the car ended up in a ditch.
An inquest into his death heard he was not wearing a seat belt and was over the drink-drive limit.
Mr Parker was thrown from the car into the road because he was not wearing a seat belt.
And Miss Hill, a student at the University of Derby, had to have an arm amputated. She also suffered serious brain injuries and died in 2007 after lying in a coma for two years.
14 Comments
View all
by Rams Fan, Oakwood
Thursday, March 11 2010, 3:35PM
“John:
Then you can also look forward to increased premiums on any insurance you may carry, thanks to the complete dereliction of personal responsibility as rewarded in this case.
Given the decision-making skills of Parker pre-crash, I have to wonder just how well his brain worked before he climbed in behind his drunken friends and decided seatbelts are for wusses.”
by John English, Derby
Thursday, March 11 2010, 3:22PM
“Mr Parker is entitled to compensation for his severe injuries do to the terms of the insurance policy. I have a life, thankyou ramfangazman (LoL). I now hope the insurance company Triples the amount. Anybody complaining about compensation for brain damage deserves everything that is undoubtedly coming their way, jealous saddos.”
by Rams Fan, Oakwood
Thursday, March 11 2010, 3:08PM
“John;
I have not read the story incorrectly; it is perfectly evident that Parker was implicit in the wrong-doing and he should bear the consequences of his folly without 'society' owing him anything. Where's the incentive to obey the law, and to endeavour to make others obey the law, when complicity in illegal acts is rewarded to this extent?
If it was me who had been so stupid I'd be spending my days regretting the loss of life, the impact my actions and inactions had brought upon the families of all involved and generally ruing the day, not rubbing my hands at a "Where's there's blame.." claim.”
by ramfangazman, Spondon
Thursday, March 11 2010, 2:23PM
“Yes John England, and I also don't mind if my premiums are pushed up by other people injured as a result of their own stupidity!
get a life, why should he get ANYTHING?”
by John English, Derby
Thursday, March 11 2010, 2:05PM
“I hope Mr. Parker's compensation is at least doubled. It can't be easy being brain damaged, as many of you will know.”
by Nanny Ogg, Derby
Thursday, March 11 2010, 1:56PM
“John,
He was in the backseat without a seatbelt on. That's an offence.
If he's entitled to any compensation it should be calculated on the potential injuries had he been wearing a seatbelt (i.e. complying withthe law).”
by Patricia, h
Thursday, March 11 2010, 1:55PM
“It says in the article that they were friends so we are right to presume.”
by Vanessa, Derby
Thursday, March 11 2010, 1:55PM
“It clearly says that Mr Parker wasn't wearing his seatbelt when he was thrown from the car and received his head injuries. There should have been NO compo paid at all!”
by John, Derby
Thursday, March 11 2010, 1:43PM
“Sorry Rams Fan, you have read this article wrongly. Mr Parker was a back seat passenger in the vehicle. Even though he was at the same party as the driver, does this then mean he knew that the driver, (a former policeman) was over the drink drive limit?
Of course it doesn't. You are presuming rather a bit too much.”
by sally, stenson fields
Thursday, March 11 2010, 12:47PM
“I agree totally with rams fan in oakwood and he I hope he is paying for his care he is receiving from the NHS”