Paralysed biker set to sue lorry driver for £500,000

Mar 30 2008 by Coreena Ford, Sunday Sun

A YOUNG North motorcyclist left paralysed after a horrifying smash with a lorry is to sue the driver and his employers for more than £500,000 in damages.

David Hird, 25, of North Yorkshire, was riding his Kawasaki bike when a Volvo lorry cut across his path as it was turning into a factory entrance.

Mr Hird was left with a spinal cord injury resulting in complete paraplegia “below T3”, which means he is totally paralysed from the waist down but has use of his arms, head and neck.

The collision, which happened in March 2005 on the A628 in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, also left him with a catalogue of other serious injuries, including broken ribs and teeth, cuts and bruises to his arms and legs.

Six months later, the lorry driver — Jayson Haycraft, of Longfield, Kent — appeared before Barnsley magistrates, where he pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention.

And now solicitors acting for Mr Hird of Melsonby, in Richmond, have served a High Court writ against Haycraft and the lorry owners Guillotined Paper Products Ltd, in a bid to claim more than half a million pounds for personal injuries and financial loss.

Papers filed last week in the High Court in London show that David has suffered psychologically as well as physically, as he adjusted to his new life after the accident.

The claim form states that he endured: “Psychological symptoms due to an adjustment disorder with a depressed mood.”

It added: “The claimant has received psychological treatment and is continuing to receive anti-depressant therapy which is likely to continue for some time.”

The solicitors — Shoosmiths, based in Hampshire — claim Mr Haycraft failed to look out for any oncoming traffic before making the right turn manoeuvre, and failed to “brake, swerve, steer or otherwise control his lorry to avoid the collision”.

When the case is finally heard in the High Court, the solicitors also intend to use Haycraft’s conviction at Barnsley magistrates as evidence of his negligence.

Shoosmiths also claim they were sent a letter last January from the defendants’ insurers, which admits liability for the crash.