Boy gets £3.4m damages for road crash
By Dave GooderhamTHE family of a boy who almost died following a road accident have been awarded £3.4million after a 10-year fight for damages.It will safeguard Anthony Read's future and pay for him to eventually live independently from parents Bernard and Cheralyn.
By Dave Gooderham
THE family of a boy who almost died following a road accident have been awarded £3.4million after a 10-year fight for damages.
It will safeguard Anthony Read's future and pay for him to eventually live independently from parents Bernard and Cheralyn.
The teenager, from Bury St Edmunds, was aged seven when he suffered severe head injuries in a collision with a car doing a U-turn near his home.
Speaking after the hearing, Anthony's father said: “We are extremely relieved that Anthony's future has been secured and he will have a proper chance of independence in the future.”
Anthony, 17, was in intensive care at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge after suffering severe head injuries and a broken leg when he was struck by a car in Mitchell Avenue, Bury St Edmunds.
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Speaking on behalf of the family, Ed Taylor, of Cambridge-based law firm Taylor Vinters, said the compensation would give the teenager a better standard of life in the future.
“Anthony was left with severe brain injuries and though he looks like a normal 17-year-old, the damage is invisible to us,” he added.
“He finds it difficult to learn new information and his frontal lobe injuries have damaged his social control box - which makes it difficult to decipher between right and wrong and what is dangerous and not dangerous.
“He will need a lot of support and supervision as he gets older and this money will provide him with independence from his family.
“The last ten years have been unimaginable difficult for the family, who are all very close, and they are now extremely relieved and pleased that Anthony's future is secure.”
Anthony, who has a brother and two sisters, is currently undertaking a special learning course at West Suffolk College, Bury St Edmunds.
The family were present at the High Court in London yesterday for the hearing when Mr Justice Keith gave his approval to the settlement sum, which will be paid by the insurers of the motorist involved in the 1993 accident.
Mr Justice Keith said: “These have been troubling and no doubt distressing years for Anthony, his parents and all of the Read family.
“I know that Mr and Mrs Read have looked after Anthony with consummate devotion since his accident and I hope that the award which has been agreed and which I have just approved will provide Anthony with a significant measure of security and will bring peace of mind to all his family.”
dave.gooderham@eadt.co.uk
