Industry news roundup: week ended 29 Dec 2014:
A man who punched a teen so hard that stitches were needed has been slapped with a personal injury claim and ordered to pay £400 in compensation.
Looks like there was a little bit of a dust-up outside a pub in Hinckley – the result was 25 year old David Varley throwing a few punches. The (possibly inebriated) gent took out his rage on a 19 year old, cutting the young man so hard that he had two cuts that needed stitches. Well, the 19 year old has the last laugh, as Varley was just ordered to pay £400 in personal injury compensation. On top of that, the bloke’s got to do 120 hours of unpaid work and is now under 12 months of supervision after his six month jail sentence was suspended for 18 months.
Apparently the incident occurred back in March of 2013, but Varley wasn’t actually nicked for the crime until May of 2014. Apparently he had been out of the country for some time; a tip to police saw the man collared at East Midlands Airport after his return flight.
So this just goes to show you: don’t drink and fight. Better yet, don’t drink, fight, then run away for over a year because you’re hiding from the police and you’re probably embarrassed about the whole thing – likely because you’re a big baby that knows he ended up doing the wrong thing. Honestly this Varley bloke is damned lucky he didn’t end up getting worse off. If a particularly bloodthirsty personal injury lawyer had gotten wind of this case, you can only imagine how much Varley could have been in the hole for. As it is, £400 and 120 hours of unpaid work is getting off damned easy.
Listen, I know that I’ve been in situations where I might have said or done things I regret – but throwing punches? Never been that angry. Or maybe that pissed. Still, a little self control goes a long way, for what it’s worth. And for pity’s sake, act your age – and don’t pick on teenagers, even if they’re saying or doing something bloody stupid!