Wife Tells Of Bike Accident Legacy
Illawarra Mercury
Saturday February 3, 2001
The wife of a man who was permanently brain damaged in a motorcycle accident told a court she could not cope seeing her husband in a vegetative state.
Balgownie man, Darin Jenkins, 34, had been in hospital since March 1998, when he was struck by a car while test-riding a motorcycle.
A tearful Sandra Jenkins told Wollongong District Court she had stopped visiting her husband on a regular basis in mid-1999.
``I just can't cope anymore to see him like that. I had to get help for myself, so I could help my children. I needed time out to recuperate," she said.
Mrs Jenkins told the court that on advice from a doctor she relinquished guardianship of her husband in September, 1999, ``because I just wasn't coping" and on Christmas Day the same year she could not bring herself to visit him.
``It was just too much," she said.
However she had visited him a few days before Christmas, taking flowers and balloons.
She said ``from time to time" she still took her two children to visit their father.
The court was told that since May last year Mr Jenkins condition had improved and he was now minimally conscious and cognitively active.
Before the accident he had led an active life and had been interested in fitness, martial arts and the board game Dungeons and Dragons.
His barrister Tony Bartley, SC, said he would need 24-hour care for the rest of his life.
Mr Jenkins is suing the driver of the vehicle, David Murray Reynolds, of Keiraville, and his insurer CIC Insurance.
Mr Reynolds was found to be largely to blame for the accident, Mr Jenkins was found to be 25 per cent at fault.
Earlier this week Mr Bartley said his client needed either a purpose-built facility with his own staff or full-time care within a hospital environment.
Mr Jenkins is seeking unlimited damages.
The hearing before Judge Joe Phelan continues on Monday.
© 2001 Illawarra Mercury
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