Crash victim in eight-figure payout

A passenger who was left paralysed after a car crash in the Walsall has received a record payout of more than £11million.

Wasim Mohammed suffered a broken neck and damaged spinal chord following the accident just five days before his 19th birthday.

The car, driven by a friend, collided with another vehicle and ploughed into a wall at the junction of Station Street and Salisbury Street, Darlaston, in the summer of 2006. He is now tetraplegic and needs the support of two carers, with little function in his arms and nothing in his legs.

A settlement worth an estimated £11.15million, believed to be the highest for personal injury in the UK, was agreed yesterday just hours before a trial was due to begin at Birmingham County Court.

It will be divided into a lump sum payment of £4.25million and annual payments of £235,000 to pay for Mr Mohammed's care for the rest of his life.

The now 22-year-old was a front seat passenger when the driver, travelling in excess of the speed limit, attempted to overtake a car at the junction. The other car turned right at the junction leading to the collision.

In November 2007, the driver was convicted of careless driving and given the maximum nine points. In his police interview he admitted driving between 40-50mph in a 30mph zone.

Mr Mohammed has built a house across the road from his parents so he has his family nearby.

Speaking after the settlement he said: "I am pleased the case is over. I am very grateful to all those who have helped me since my injury.

"It is very important to me to be able to fulfil my duty to my family the best I can. Being able to live near them and see them every day while still getting the care I need is as close as I can get.."

Daniel Herman, catastrophic injury specialist at Stewarts Law who represented Mr Mohammed, added: "Whilst the money cannot replace what he has lost, it will mean that he can live as comfortably as possible, close to his family and safe in the knowledge that he will always be cared for."