£1.9m Settlement for Shropshire Man brings end to Alps Coach Crash Case

Max Bishop of Shropshire has been awarded £1.9m compensation for the catastrophic injuries he received following a coach crash in January 2007.

The ruling is the last to be made in a case which has seen Mr Bishop and 23 other passengers bring successful actions in the High Court. Following Mr Bishop’s award, the overall compensation amount for the case has risen to £2,125,250.00.

Speaking after the announcement Mr Bishop’s solicitor, catastrophic injury specialist Neil Lorimer of Lanyon Bowdler, said: "It (the award) has been carefully calculated to meet Mr Bishop’s extensive needs now and for the rest of his life. Part of the award also replaces his extensive loss of income following early retirement.”

Of all the claimants Mr Bishop, a teacher, was the most seriously injured in the crash, which occurred when the coach in which he and a party of schoolchildren were travelling lost control on black ice.

The party were being transported from the French Alps ski resort of Vars to Grenoble Airport for their return flight to Manchester Airport, when the driver lost control and smashed into a rock face, spinning the vehicle 360° and demolishing a telegraph pole before coming to rest against a crash barrier.

A tachograph recording showed the coach to have been travelling at a speed of approximately 60mph at the time of impact, despite having passed numerous flashing warning notices of black ice.

The driver Monsieur David Levy was prosecuted and convicted on 11 December 2009 of a driving offence and received a 600 € fine.

Mr Bishop said: “I just want to say I am very grateful for all of the support and hard work put in by my solicitors, Neil Lorimer and Gayle Kinsey from Lanyon Bowdler. I also want to thank all of my family and friends, my rehab team plus the local community for all their help and support.”

Following intensive rehabilitation and retraining Mr Bishop managed to briefly return to work teaching IT, yet despite his best efforts he was unable to sustain his employment and is now medically retired.

Lanyon Bowdler is one of Shropshire’s largest law firms with 14 partners and over 160 experienced staff, and specialises in helping accident victims claim the compensation they deserve. For more information, visit the firm’s web site: www.lblaw.co.uk.

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Amanda Jones

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Lanyon Bowdler Solicitors

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