Lawyers Call For Drivers To Be Vigilant After Smash

A BT engineer who sustained serious injuries when a car ploughed into him as he worked by the side of the road has called for drivers to be more vigilant after receiving a five-figure settlement to help get his life back on track.

Stuart Calvert was left scarred for life after suffering numerous broken bones, a ruptured spleen and deep cuts to his face in the smash on Water Lane in Clifton, York, on Christmas Eve 2010.

The 64-year-old asked serious injury experts at Irwin Mitchell to help him in his battle for justice after he underwent emergency surgery on Christmas Day and was hospitalised for two weeks until the New Year. Solicitors at the firm have secured a £30,000 settlement to cover the care and support Stuart has required during his rehabilitation.

At the time of the incident, BT engineer Stuart, from Holgate, York, was setting up to work outside Clifton Telephone Exchange. He and his colleague had unhooked the trailer from their van and were moving it into position over a manhole at the side of a road when an oncoming car hit the trailer.

While his colleague managed to dive out of the way, Stuart took the full impact as the car slammed into the trailer.

The father of three said: “The last thing I remember is seeing the car coming our way, and the next thing I know I’m in the hospital. It was only after I woke up that I found out what actually happened.”

When the car came to a stop, Stuart was left bloody and unconscious hanging over the side of the trailer, with the BT van on the other side of the road after it had been hit by the momentum of the crash.

An ambulance took him to York Hospital, where Stuart was admitted to the high dependency unit as he had a lot of injuries to his face, as well as several internally.

Stuart underwent a chest drain to release a collapsed lung, and had surgery on fractures to his shoulder, ribs, pelvis and cheekbone, as well treatment to his face as it had been almost ripped apart.

Sophie Davies, a serious injury expert at Irwin Mitchell, said: “Stuart’s life has been changed forever as a result of the horrific crash, but we have managed to secure a settlement which will help support him financially.

“He has undergone courses of acupuncture and physiotherapy, but the pain in his face and back will have to be managed by painkillers - in future and he needs help with any lifting or strenuous tasks around the house.

“Although he has made a remarkable recovery from what was a truly horrific incident, the scars on his face will provide a lifelong reminder of the ordeal he suffered.

“Stuart and his colleague were undertaking some necessary work at the side of the road at the time of the incident and drivers need to be vigilant so other people’s lives are not turned upside down by injuries that could have been prevented by drivers taking more care.”

Speaking of his injury ordeal, Stuart said: “It was the worst experience of my entire life. While most people were celebrating Christmas Day with their families, I was having a metal plate screwed into my face as it had been absolutely smashed in.

“I was bed-bound and couldn’t move for weeks, and the painkillers I was on caused me to hallucinate. It was a scary time for me, and really distressing for my family to see me like that.”

Stuart was an inpatient at the hospital until the 4th of January 2011, and continues to suffer from numbness and pain in his face and lower back over 18 months after the incident.

He was forced to take eight months off work with his injuries, and despite returning for a short period, could not manage the manual work required and retired after just a few months.