Care Vital For Injured Man: Expert
Illawarra Mercury
Friday February 2, 2001
The life expectancy of a Balgownie man severely brain damaged in a motorcycle accident could be greatly increased by constant care, an expert said yesterday.
Professor Peter Disler, from Melbourne, said there were several life-threatening factors facing Darin Jenkins, including respiratory disease and renal failure.
He told Wollongong District Court adequate care was ``enormously important" as a preventive measure against these factors.
``Without it mortality could be almost immediate," he said.
Mr Jenkins, 34, had been test driving a motorbike when he was hit by a car in Wollongong.
In 1999, Judge Joe Phelan found the driver, David Murray Reynolds, largely to blame for the accident.
Mr Jenkins is seeking unlimited damages against Mr Reynolds and his insurer, CIC Insurance.
The court has heard that after two years in a vegetative state, Mr Jenkins was now minimally conscious and cognitively active.
The hearing before Judge Phelan continues today in Wollongong District Court.
© 2001 Illawarra Mercury
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