By Staff Reporter

Last updated at 08:39, Wednesday, 30 January 2013

A man who suffered a life-threatening brain injury in a motorbike crash has taken his case to the High Court.

Daniel McCracken

Daniel McCracken was just 16 when the accident turned his life upside down.

He was a pillion passenger on a green Kawasaki motorbike driven by Damien Smith, also 16, in January 2007, when it crashed into a bus on Wigton Road in Carlisle.

The left side of Mr McCracken’s brain was badly damaged, the injury affecting both his speech and movement down the right side of his body.

After the crash, Mr McCracken – formerly a bright and confident teenager who had planned a career in law – needed intensive physiotherapy and had to learn how to speak again virtually from scratch.

Mr McCracken’s case got underway at the High Court in Liverpool as he sued Mr Smith, the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) and the driver of the bus.

The crash happened near to Morton Community Centre and both boys were rushed to hospital with serious head injuries, the court heard.

Mr McCracken claimed he did not know the bike was uninsured and is seeking compensation from the MIB.

Mr Smith and McCracken’s brother Warren were in court as witnesses on the first day of the hearing, which is expected to last five days.

Lucy Jones, who was in a relationship with Mr McCracken for nine months before the accident, said he had wanted to be a solicitor before the crash.

She said: “He had applied to go to college and had dreams of becoming a solicitor.

“He studied a lot and we always talked about who was the most intelligent.”

Alex Broughton, 22, was a friend of Mr McCracken and said he was always interested in bikes and often went off-road riding with Daniel and his father.

He said: “I knew Daniel was interested in track bikes and his dad was as well. I went track biking with them once or twice a month as a treat.

“Sometimes Damien would come if there was room.”

Stephen Worthington, representing MIB, accused Mr Smith of not having a licence and being uninsured on the bike involved in the incident.

He said: “The bike involved in the accident had a greater power than 50cc. It was 85cc. If you are 16 you cannot ride that bike legally, nor be insured to ride it. Damien had never passed his driving test or had a provisional licence.

“Daniel knew that having just a scooter licence would not have applied to the bike.

“This track bike should not have been on the road as it had foot pegs and shouldn’t have.

“The bike was illegal and couldn’t be insured. Neither boy was wearing a helmet either and it is illegal to not be wearing one.”

Christine Palmer was parked in a car park close to where the crash happened and spoke about a “great panic and commotion” which followed the smash.

She said: “I noticed the sound of trail bikes driving as they are very loud. The sound got louder and I noticed a bus was stationary waiting to pull out. After that I heard people shouting as if there was some sort of accident, not long after the bike had hit the vehicle.

“There was a commotion on the other side of the bus with other boys. It sounded like they were saying something like ‘Come on’ to the injured boys. There was a lot of panic in the boy’s voices.”

Two years ago, Mr McCracken’s father Mark spoke of how proud he was of his son, having battled his way back from such a serious brain injury.

“At first they thought he’d never speak again. He’s absolutely fantastic,” he said.

The case continues.

First published at 08:30, Wednesday, 30 January 2013
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk