Man hurt in devastating car crash awarded ‘substantial’ personal injury compensation

Posted 20/10/2010

A man left with brain damage after a crash that killed three people has been awarded a “substantial” sum in personal injury compensation after a High Court hearing.

Nicholas Butler, now 23, was in a car being driven to school by his aunt Susan Prosser when the accident occurred in October 1995, the Bucks Free Press reports.

The vehicle collided with a skip lorry and fell down an embankment into a tree, killing Ms Prosser, her eight-year-old daughter Laura and her friend Nikita Somes, seven.

Mr Butler was pulled from the wreckage and taken to hospital, but was so badly brain-damaged that he was left needing 24-hour care.

This week in court, Mrs Justice Swift approved a settlement that will provide the victim with care for the rest of his life, as well as a specially-adapted home.

She explained: “This is a very distressing and difficult condition and his problems will require careful management for the rest of his life.”

Although the exact sum of personal injury compensation has not been revealed after the legal action, a similar case reported earlier this month resulted in a £17.5 million payout for Chrissie Johnson, who was also brain-damaged in a car crash.