EXPRESS REPORTER
A young mechanic who quit his dream job after developing a phobia of riding motorbikes has been awarded more than £60,000 compensation.
Stuart Conway, 25, developed a fear of bikes after being involved in a horror accident.
The National Personal Injury Court in Edinburgh heard how Mr Conway was working as a trainee mechanic for West Coast Harley Davidson at the time.
Mr Conway, from Renfrew, was test driving a customer’s 750cc Harley Davidson when he collided with a vehicle being driven by Fiona Paton.
The court heard how Mr Conway’s head went through the rear passenger window the car.
He suffered whiplash and psychiatric injuries as a result of the accident.
Mr Conway, who owns a Harley Davidson, also developed a phobia of bikes which led to issues at the workplace.
Lawyers acting for Mr Conway launched legal action against Ms Paton and an insurance firm in court.
Lawyers for the two defenders had admitted liability leaving only quantum to be decided by Sheriff Robert Fife.
Yesterday, in a judgement issued by the court, Sheriff Fife ruled that Mr Conway should receive £ 61,252.27 from the two defenders.
He wrote: “This was a job the pursuer loved.”
But Sheriff Fife said this situation changed following the accident.
“Any time he was on a bike, he felt very nervous, very anxious and was shaking.
“He felt as if he had to get away from the situation.
“He could no longer perform a major function of his job, road-testing bikes.
“His employers were very accommodating, putting him into another role in the dealership, which did not involve bike road testing.
“Every day he went to work feeling unhappy. It came to a point he had to make a decision for his own sanity.
“Mr Conway told his employers he ha d to get a f re s h start. ”
The judgement tells of how he was taken by West Coast Harley Davidson in 2015 as a modern apprentice.
Ho w e v e r, h e left the company in Jul y 2018.
The court heard that following the October 2017 accident, Mr Conway - who now hopes to become a photographer - took up employment with another Glasgow based firm called Ride On Motorcycles.
He was responsible for cleaning and servicing bikes.
Lawyers for the two defenders told the court that Mr Conway hadn’t mentioned the fact that he was working for Ride On to experts looking into the case .
However, Sheriff Fife concluded that Mr Conway hadn’t attempted to mislead the court.
He added: “In the present case, the failure to tell experts about his employment was unexplained but, in my view, there was no deliberate misleading of the experts on his part.
“The pursuer, having suffered loss injury and damage due to the fault of the defenders, is entitled to reparation therefore.”
He also wrote that Mr Conway continues to have a psychiatric injury.
He added: “The pursuer had and continues to have a specific phobia in riding other people’s bikes.
“That specific phobia will continue indefinitely.”