A former professional footballer has won at least £4.3m in compensation after a tackle ended his promising career when he was just 18 years old.
Ben Collett, now 23, was playing his first match for Manchester United reserves in May 2003 when he was heavily tackled by Gary Smith of Middlesbrough FC. The tackle broke his right leg in two places, ending his career.
Before the injury, Mr Collett had a lucrative career in prospect playing professional football. He had joined the youth academy at Manchester United at the age of nine and had been part of the team that won the FA Youth Cup in 2003.
Mr Smith and Middlesbrough FC admitted liability for the injury. In determining the level of compensation payable by the club’s insurers, Mrs Justice Swift found that if Mr Collett had not suffered the injury he would probably have gone on to sign a three-year professional contract with Manchester United. This could have earned him as much as £13,000 a week.
The court found that Mr Collett had a good chance of spending some, if not all, of his career in the Premier League.
While the full amount of compensation has yet to be finalised, Mr Collett was awarded £3,854,328 for future loss of earnings, £35,000 for pain and suffering and a further £456,095 to compensate him for past loss of earnings.
A hearing in October will decide the amounts to be paid out for future loss of pension and interest on past loss of earnings. The final settlement is likely to be in excess of £4.5m.
This is the second case in recent months in which a professional sports club has been found liable for an injury that was caused by one of its players to a player from another team during the course of a match.
Ben Collett, now 23, was playing his first match for Manchester United reserves in May 2003 when he was heavily tackled by Gary Smith of Middlesbrough FC. The tackle broke his right leg in two places, ending his career.
Before the injury, Mr Collett had a lucrative career in prospect playing professional football. He had joined the youth academy at Manchester United at the age of nine and had been part of the team that won the FA Youth Cup in 2003.
Mr Smith and Middlesbrough FC admitted liability for the injury. In determining the level of compensation payable by the club’s insurers, Mrs Justice Swift found that if Mr Collett had not suffered the injury he would probably have gone on to sign a three-year professional contract with Manchester United. This could have earned him as much as £13,000 a week.
The court found that Mr Collett had a good chance of spending some, if not all, of his career in the Premier League.
While the full amount of compensation has yet to be finalised, Mr Collett was awarded £3,854,328 for future loss of earnings, £35,000 for pain and suffering and a further £456,095 to compensate him for past loss of earnings.
A hearing in October will decide the amounts to be paid out for future loss of pension and interest on past loss of earnings. The final settlement is likely to be in excess of £4.5m.
This is the second case in recent months in which a professional sports club has been found liable for an injury that was caused by one of its players to a player from another team during the course of a match.
