Payout at last for lifeboatman forced to quit after crash
A long-serving lifeboatman whose voluntary career was ruined by a car crash has finally received compensation.
Robert Briggs was a senior helmsman at Hayling RNLI and received a royal honour for decades of voluntary work.
But it came to a sudden end when his car was hit from behind on the M27 on a dark, rainy night in November 2005.
The force of the shunt forced his spine into an 'S' shape, leaving him unable to pass RNLI medical checks.
Mr Briggs, of Selsmore Avenue, Hayling Island, said: 'At the time I was more concerned for my wife because she had been undergoing treatment to her neck.
'I had no cuts or bruises but as the days went on I started feeling uncomfortable and a visit to the hospital showed my spine had been knocked into an ''S'' shape. I had a whiplash injury and it began to get worse because of the impact.'
The 50-year-old had spent 20 years in the RNLI and was awarded the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal for long service in 2003.
But because he was over 45 he required an annual medical which he could not pass.
He had to see a chiropractor for two years for his injuries and could not get on a boat because the movement as it bobbed up and down would have caused more damage to his back.
It meant he remained on dry land unable to fulfil his lifelong passion of helping people at sea.
He said: 'I would have been more of a liability to my colleagues than a help. But it was a massive blow because the lifeboat crew are like family and we socialised together all the time.
'I was always at the life-boat station so a big part of my life was over when I had to stop. It was devastating.'
Mr Briggs has been awarded 6,000 compensation from the other driver's insurance company. Mr Briggs's union, Unison, acted for him.
He intends to spend the money on a holiday with his wife to celebrate their tenth wedding anniversary.
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