$289k to victim of quad bike accident

Oct. 21, 2013, 8 a.m.

A BRITISH backpacker who suffered a catastrophic brain injury while working on King Island has been awarded $289,000 in compensation.

Holly Raper, 21, was left in a near-vegetative state when a quad bike rolled on top of her in December 2011.

She was working on a dairy farm owned by David and Jocelyn Bowden.

Ms Raper, who cannot communicate or breathe on her own, was not wearing a helmet, and the quad bike was found to be mechanically defective.

After a period of intensive hospital treatment, she was able to be transferred to the UK, where her family now cares for her.

"She does not have the ability to communicate," said her UK doctor, David Shakespeare, a consultant in neurological rehabilitation medicine.

"It is assumed that she has some degree of hearing and vision, but this cannot be formally assessed because of severe cognitive impairment. She requires full nursing care and hoisting for transfers. She has a spastic quadriplegia."

Last month Mr Bowden was fined $3000 while his farm manager, Jason Andrew Haines, was penalised $1200 by Devonport magistrate Michael Brett.

Both men pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that Ms Raper was wearing a helmet after Mr Haines directed her to use the bike to move cows into a paddock.

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$289k to victim of quad bike accident