Crash Victim Sues For Full-time Care
Illawarra Mercury
Wednesday January 31, 2001
A Balgownie man who was severely brain injured in a 1998 motorcycle accident will require 24-hour care for the rest of his life, a Wollongong District Court was told.
Darin Jenkins needed either a purpose-built facility with his own staff or full-time care within an hospital environment and ``if he was denied this...he would probably die within a week," his barrister Tony Bartley SC said.
He told Judge Joe Phelan, ``...provided he is properly cared for in the future his life expectancy may not be compromised."
Mr Jenkins had been test driving a motorbike when he was hit by a car in Wollongong.
In 1999 Judge Phelan found the driver, David Murray Reynolds, of Keiraville, largely to blame for the accident.
Mr Jenkins is seeking unlimited damages against Mr Reynolds and his insurer CIC Insurance.
The court was told the 34-year-old lay in a vegetative state in a hospital bed for two years, but in May last year his condition improved and he is now minimally conscious and cognitively active.
Mr Bartley said the purpose-built facility would be near, but not adjoining his family's home.
``...His family should not have the responsibility of him 24 hours a day," he said.
Damages sought included the purchase of land, an architect to design the building, construction costs, special equipment and funds to pay for staff to care for him.
The court was told Mr Jenkins needed to be turned every two to three hours to prevent skin ulcers.
The defence had suggested that Mr Jenkins could be cared for in an aged care home at Liverpool for $97 a day.
But Mr Bartley told the court, ``... a nursing home can't cope with someone needing constant, slow stream rehabilitation."
The court was told there was nowhere within the public hospital system that could accommodate Mr Jenkins.
© 2001 Illawarra Mercury
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