25 June 2023 , 11:27
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A dad says he is "lucky to be alive" after being thrown 150m (492ft) off his motorbike when a driver ploughed into him in a head-on crash.
Shaun Eccles, 37, somersaulted through the air and shattered his right foot and leg, broke both wrists and lost four teeth when he landed at the side of the road.
His motorbike even burst into flames and started melting the bumper and fuel cap of a parked car.
Despite causing the horrific injuries in June 2019, which left Shaun unable to walk properly for a year, the driver was given just six penalty points and fined £313 for driving without due care and attention.
Shaun, an apprentice steel worker from Cumbria, told the Mirror: "The crash changed my life forever, yet the driver walked away with a slap on the wrist.
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"It’s shocking as he should have at least been banned. I nearly died and he got away with it. How is that justice?”
Shaun, from Cumbria, was left unable to walk properly for a year (Supplied by Osbornes Law)
He was thrown the length and a half of a football pitch in the crash (Supplied by Osbornes Law)He is now suing the driver for personal injury through Osbornes Law in excess of £200,000. The driver’s insurance company has admitted liability.
Shaun recalled: “I was riding along the coastal road when a car on the other side of the road veered into my path completely unexpectedly.
"It all happened in a flash, and I didn’t have a chance to brake. I somersaulted several times through the air before landing on the side of the road. I was told I had been thrown the length and a half of a football pitch.
"My bike burst into flames and started melting a parked car. I was disorientated, all I could smell was burning plastic.
His motorbike burst into flames and started melting the bumper and fuel cap of a parked car (Supplied by Osbornes Law)“The pain was excruciating and I couldn’t move my right leg, my hands or my fingers. When I was being taken to hospital the agony was by far the worst I had ever felt ripping through my body."
Following the crash on the A5087 in Cumbria, Shaun was taken to Furness General Hospital before being transferred to a specialist trauma unit at Royal Preston Hospital.
He said: "One of the doctors said he had treated Isle of Man TT riders when they had crashed and I was only the third person he had seen survive with such horrendous injuries.
Shaun in hospital with his daughter (Supplied by Osbornes Law)
He had to sell his house because he was unable to work (Supplied by Osbornes Law)"I feel lucky to be alive and I’m grateful that I had carbon fibre boots on as if I hadn’t I would have been in serious trouble. As it was my right leg and foot were broken in several places.
"My helmet was completely flattened at the back from the impact. If I hadn’t had my gear on there would’ve been nothing left of me."
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Shaun had to sell his house because he was unable to work and moved to his mum and dad's with his daughter, who is now seven.
He suffers from anxiety when he is in a car and says he will never ride a motorbike again.
Shaun broke both wrists in the crash (Supplied by Osbornes Law)Shaun added: "I didn’t think it would affect me that badly mentally, but it has. I get palpitations if travelling at any vaguely high speed in a car."
Nicola Hall, a specialist personal injury solicitor from Osbornes Law who represents Shaun, said: "My client’s life has been devastated after suffering horrendous injuries through no fault of his own.
"He has struggled to recover and come to terms with the crash, so it is crucial that the legal matter is settled quickly.
"While we are pleased that liability has been admitted we want this matter expedited by the driver’s insurers so my client can move on with his life."