Mark Pollock is due to receive massive compensation after he successfully sued his friends Enda and Madeline Cahill.
Mark, an adventurer who became the first blind man to reach the South Pole, fell from an upstairs window at their home in Oxfordshire, while he was staying there during the July 2010 regatta.
In a statement released today, the rowing medalist said that taking the case was “the right thing to do in the circumstances.”
He also revealed that the headlines suggesting he was personally suing his friends “were misleading and provocative”.
“My friends did not have to hire their own solicitors. They did not have any legal costs. They were never at risk of having to compensate me from their own pockets for the costs I bear as a result of my injury”, he said.
Speaking exclusively to VIP in our June issue about the fateful night, Mark said, “I don’t remember what happened and nobody saw. My friends were sitting in the garden and I landed on the ground a few feet from them.”
The accident resulted in Mark suffering catastrophic spinal injuries leaving him paralysed and confided to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
“I was told to check all possible sources of insurance and home insurance policies. So, as part of the process, I established that my friends had home insurance to meet my claim,” he stated.
Legal representatives for Mark confirmed that the 39-year-old had limited his claim to a maximum of £2 million, which is the limit of the Cahill’s household insurance.
The exact sum that he is to be rewarded is unknown but it’s estimated to reach a seven-figure sum.
