Tram crash man gets 'more than £1m'

There are other compensation cases pending

A man who was left brain-damaged when he drove over wet tram rails in South Yorkshire and crashed has won a claim for damages.

A High Court judge sitting in Barnsley County Court has found that the tram operators did not fulfill their responsibility to maintain the road and foresee the danger.

Solicitors acting on behalf of William Roe, 41, expect his compensation to be well over £1m.

Mr Roe, a transport manager, was driving his Ford Sierra to work when his car went over the rails and he lost control, hitting a steel post.

Tram rails were wet as the accident happened

Gary Burrell, the solicitor representing Mr Roe, told BBC News Online: "His memory, cognitive ability, and personality were all affected.

"He needs full-time care and has no recollection of the incident.

"Rails have no friction when wet, and when he came off them again there was a jerk, and he over corrected and lost control."

The judge said that there had been a breach of section 25 of the Tramways Act of 1870, which says rails have to be level with the surrounding surface.

The rails were higher, meaning the car tyres were lifted up and there was no contact with the road.

The tram gauge also matched the width between the wheels of many modern cars.

The tram operators are expected to appeal against the High Court decision, which could have implications for other cities across the UK.

A spokeswoman for South Yorkshire Supertram said the company had no comment to make.

Next step

But Ian Lovell from the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, which ran the trams before Stagecoach took them over in 1998, told BBC News Online: "We are waiting for a written judgement to be officially handed down before deciding any next step to take."

Other drivers have had accidents and there are still cases pending.

Mr Burrell said: "The measures that have been taken since the accident have reduced the prospect of another accident.

"The area on either side of the rails has been been built up with a high friction material.

"They have moved the centre of the road, in traffic signing terms, to the left.

We were concerned that not enough was done in finding out the cause of the accidents before the tram system was opened

Gary Burrell, solicitor

"Slippery when wet signs have also gone up, but it [Sheffield's] is a unique system, it is the only one in the world where there is in excess of 50% mixed use, cars and trams, where the cars can go up to 40 mph.

In Manchester the shared use is concentrated in the city centre where speeds are much lower.... in the West Midlands the shared section is in Wolverhampton city centre.

"One of the areas we have been concerned about is that not enough consideration was given to motor car users in the area the rails were.

"There was a series of accidents... we were concerned that not enough was done in finding out the cause of the accidents before the tram system was opened," Mr Burrell said.

Mr Roe's wife Julie has had to look after him full time since his crash six years ago.