Asperger`s man awarded £3.2m for crash
An Asperger's Syndrome sufferer who was robbed of his independence by a road accident in south London has won £3.32 million damages.
Gideon Sklair was crossing a road in Sydenham, with a blind friend one night in April 2007, when they were both knocked down by a car.
Despite his AS and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, 49-year-old Mr Sklair, of Venner Road, Sydenham, had led a fairly independent life until then, said Mr Justice Edwards-Stuart at London's High Court.
He would travel around London on his own and see friends although he lived with his father who provided for his basic needs. But his spinal injuries affected his dexterity and mobility as well as leaving him psychologically traumatised so that he now needed 24-hour care and attention.
The judge said it had been agreed Mr Sklair should get 90% of any assessed damages, but the insurers of the driver involved had disputed the amount of care needed and compensation. They argued that once Mr Sklair's elderly father, Harvey, became unable to look after him, he would have needed care of some sort in any event.
The judge said Mr Sklair now had difficulty with tasks like fastening buttons, belts and zips, holding cutlery and cutting up food. His clumsiness put him at risk of burning himself and he was not steady on his feet. He now repeated phrases 30 to 40 times and had prolonged bouts of coughing. His increased anxiety since the accident meant that he got up three or four times in the night and had nightmares.