Pontefract man paralysed in car crash gets £8m payout

The compensation will fund Mr Borowski's long-term care

A Pontefract man who was left paralysed from the neck down after a car crash has been awarded £8.35m compensation.

The sum, awarded to Lukasz Borowski at Newcastle High Court, will pay for his long-term care.

Mr Borowski, 27, was a back seat passenger in a work colleague's car which crashed in Cambridgeshire in November 2005.

The settlement was reached with the Motor Insurer's Bureau. It compensates the victims of uninsured drivers.

Mr Borowski was travelling to his job at a fruit and vegetable producers when the car crashed into a ditch. The car's driver did not have insurance.

He suffered damage to his spinal cord, a fractured spine and was left brain-damaged.

Lawyer John Davis, of Irwin Mitchell Solicitors, who represented Mr Borowski, said the total settlement was valued at nearly £10.5m, but Mr Borowski had accepted a 20% reduction because he was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.

It has taken a couple of years, but finally I have got it Lukasz Borowski

The money was awarded to Mr Borowski by Mr Justice Burnett at a hearing on Tuesday. It will go towards providing Mr Borowski with the long-term care he now requires.

Mr Borowski said he was "very pleased" with the compensation he had been awarded.

"It has taken a couple of years, but finally I have got it," he said.

"I would like to thank everybody who supported me in this case, particularly my family and my solicitors."

A Motor Insurers' Bureau spokeswoman said: "Mr Borowski was tragically injured whilst a passenger in an uninsured vehicle, resulting in him sustaining extensive back and head injuries which have had a serious impact on his life.

"The Motor Insurers' Bureau has been working with his legal advisors, Irwin Mitchell, to arrive at an appropriate sum of compensation. We are pleased that agreement was reached on a compensation package which has today received court approval."