Paul Vallance, 27, was just 18 when he was involved in the head-on collision, but at the time it was thought he’d only suffered a mild head injury.
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However after several years of angry outbursts, resulting in Paul losing several retail positions, his mother, Tina Collins, launched an eight-year legal battle.
Tina won her case and it was proven that Paul had suffered from debilitating brain damage, and he was awarded the £4million compensation.
The money, paid out by the other driver’s insurance company, will cover the care and support Paul will now need for life.
Speaking to a UK newspaper, Tina said: “My loving son had been replaced by a much angrier, hostile young man.
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“He would spend hours just staring at himself in the mirror, saying repeatedly ‘I look like Paul, but I don’t feel like Paul’. My heart was in bits seeing him like this.
“Several retail positions followed in quick succession but Paul just couldn’t cope. He lost his temper with customers and through no fault of his own, was unable to exercise self-control or use appropriate language.”
After the crash in 2006, Paul spent 19 days in hospital where the classic signs of a serious brain injury were missed.
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These included confusion, loss of the ability to speak and amnesia. Convinced something serious was wrong with her son, and unsatisfied with the original outcome, Tina consulted a different law firm.
It was only then, when Paul was sent for more brain scans, that the full extent of his injuries was discovered.
Following the pay out, Paul is now in a specialist care unit.