A former IT boss has been awarded more than £500,000 in damages after banging his head on a doorframe at work in an incident which left him with a ‘traumatic brain injury.’
Stephen Long, 48, from Norwich, was earning £50,000-a-year at Elegant Resorts Ltd, which takes bookings for Virgin Galactic’s space flight programme, when he hit his head in March 2015.
Mr Long said he went to help a colleague lift a large and awkward item when he struck his head against a doorframe in the cellar of the company offices in Chester.
He continued working but said he felt unusually sleepy in the following days, and was later admitted to hospital.
Mr Long attempted to return to work in April but only lasted a few hours and was subsequently told he would be made redundant the following month.
He claims the injury stops him from working with computers, and he most recently made £8,000-a-year as a gardener at Felbrigg Hall – a National Trust stately home in Norfolk.
Without his head injury, Mr Long claimed he could have continued to climb in his chosen field, landing salaries of up to £150,000.
Stephen Long (above), 48, from Norwich, was earning £50,000-a-year at Elegant Resorts Ltd, which takes bookings for Virgin Galactic’s space flight programme, when he hit his head in March 2015
He claims he has been plagued by a variety of symptoms linked to a mild brain injury that ‘severely compromised his ability to work or function normally.’
His problems included difficulties with memory and concentration, disturbed vision, vertigo, anger, light sensitivity and acute depression.
Mr Long appealed his redundancy on the grounds of disability discrimination and that the employment claim had been settled by the defendant paying £5,575 to Mr Long on terms that were expressed to be ‘without admission of liability’.
A seven-day High Court trial earlier this year heard Mr Long ‘remains unfit to work at the level that he did prior to his accident’.
The travel company said in its defence statement that it was ‘sceptical as to both the accuracy and the honesty of the (Mr Long’s) account relating to the accident and its aftermath’.
Mr Long said he went to help a colleague lift a large and awkward item when he struck his head against a doorframe in the cellar of the company offices in Chester (above)
Elegant Resorts admitted liability for injuries caused by the accident, but said that this was no more than a bump to the head of a kind that people suffer regularly and which has led to no long-term consequences at all.
Giving judgment today, Judge Pearce rejected the claims that Mr Long had been ‘fundamentally dishonest’ in his compensation claim.
Although he was probably walking, rather than running, when his head struck the ceiling, he accepted there was ‘some degree of force’ involved.
Judge Pearce said he was satisfied Mr Long had suffered post traumatic amnesia following the accident, and there was evidence of a mild brain injury.
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And he also rejected the claim that Mr Long had been partly to blame for what happened, even though he had himself described his accident as ‘silly.’
‘In cross-examination, the claimant accepted that it was ‘silly’ to walk into a door frame,’ he said.
His Honour Judge Pearce found Mr Long had likely not exaggerated his symptoms and awarded him total damages of £509,957
‘There is a considerable distinction to be drawn between silliness or stupidity upon injuring oneself and the kind of culpable fault necessary for a finding of contributory negligence.
‘On any version of events, this was a minor misjudgement by the claimant, in the context of going to help a fellow employee. As he put it in cross-examination, ‘I was…moving at speed to help Craig, who I believe was actually going to hurt himself.’
‘There seems no reason to disbelieve that explanation. He knew that the doorways were ‘domed’ and no doubt careful reflection would have led to a concern that he needed to be careful not to bang his head.
‘In my judgment, the defendant fails to show any fault on the part of the claimant sufficient to justify a finding of contributory negligence.’
He awarded Mr Long total damages of £509,957, including £298,379 for future loss of earnings.
