The BBC has been ordered to pay a former presenter £1.6 million in damages after using him as a human crash test dummy during filming.
Engineer Jem Stansfield, 50, who was one of the stars of science education programme Bang Goes The Theory, was left with life-changing injuries when he was strapped to a sled and catapulted into a metal pole, to simulate the effect of crashing a car into a lamp post.
Mr Stansfield, who has a degree in aeronautics from Bristol University, was left with permanent brain and spinal injuries as a result of the stunt.
He was originally claiming £3 million in lost earnings, but the BBC contested that amount. A High Court judge has just ruled that the BBC should pay Mr Stansfield damages in the sum of £1,617,286.20.
Mrs Justice Yip said the parties were in agreement that Mr Stansfield should recover two-thirds of the amount claimed for the injuries sustained when he was 42 years old.
She noted that the scientific communicator had a good level of athletic fitness at the time he was injured, citing footage of him balancing on his hands and scaling the BBC's White City building using a pair of vacuum gloves.
She said: "This claim arises out of the making of an episode of Bang Goes The Theory in which the claimant assumed the role of a human 'crash test dummy' for a feature about the relative safety of forward and rearward-facing child car seats.
"During filming on 8th February, 2013, the claimant conducted a series of crash tests.
"He was strapped into a rig like a go-cart which was propelled along a track into a post.
"In the introduction to the piece, the claimant explains that he had calculated the experiment to give a similar crash profile to hitting a lamppost in a real car in an urban environment.
"The crashes were performed forwards and backwards twice each. It is not in dispute, and perhaps not surprising, that the claimant suffered some injury.
"What is contentious is the extent of that injury and the consequences for the claimant."
Mr Stansted said he had been left with a myriad of symptoms, which had led to a decline in his general health. The BBC, is characteristically dismissive fashion, claimed that the injuries amounted to "little more than a moderate whiplash injury with depressive symptoms".
Criticising the BBC, the judge said: "I must say that I find it astonishing that anyone thought that this exercise was a sensible idea.
"On his own account to camera, the claimant was simulating a road traffic collision of the sort that commonly causes injury.
"It might be thought that someone of his intelligence and scientific background might have appreciated the risk.
"Indeed, in the finished piece, he rather prosaically observes, 'I wouldn't recommend this'.
"Equally, there was evidence that the BBC had actively sought advice, been warned of the danger, yet allowed the experiment to proceed."
The judge ordered the BBC to pay two-thirds of the sum originally sought by Mr Stansfield, after hearing that the parties agreed to joint liability.
Speaking in response to the judgment, a BBC spokesman said: "We take the health and wellbeing of everyone who works for the BBC extremely seriously.
"We keep safety measures on set under constant review and we made adjustments following the incident in 2013.
"We acknowledge the court's judgment in this complex case and wish Mr Stansfield the best for the future."
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