IT boss, 48, is awarded more than £500,000 in damages after banging his head on a doorframe at work which left him with a ‘traumatic brain injury’ and made redundant from £50,000-a-year job and forced to become a gardener
- Stephen Long, from Norwich, hit his head on a doorframe in Chester in 2015
- He claimed he was unable to work with computers and took job as a gardener
- Mr Long, who earned £50,000-a-year, was awarded £500,000 in damages
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.
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
Without his head injury, he could have continued to climb in his chosen field, landing salaries of up to £150,000, Mr Long had claimed.
It was said that 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)
His Honour Judge Pearce found Mr Long had likely not exaggerated his symptoms and awarded him total damages of £509,957
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.
But the judge, His Honour Judge Pearce, found Mr Long had likely not exaggerated his symptoms.
Handing down his ruling, the judge said he was satisfied that Mr Long suffered significant injuries, and that he had not been guilty of fundamental dishonesty.
He awarded Mr Long total damages of £509,957, including £298,379 for future loss of earnings.