$6.2 Million Award for Brain-Injured Man with Sex Addiction

By Mary Mitchell

Published on December 20, 2006

Tame was 29 and had been married for eight months at the time of his fall at Professional Cycling Marketing, in Essex, England. His attorney argued that although Tame recovered after 53 days in a coma and two years of rehabilitation, he continued to suffer not only from a range of disabilities including slurred speech, tunnel vision, weakness on his left side, difficulty in tolerating noise, and poor concentration and memory, but also from an addiction to sex that manifested itself in visits to prostitutes, an affair with another woman, calls to telephone porn services, a lack of inhibition, and inappropriate behavior. The sex addiction was claimed to be ruining Tame's marriage.

Judge Michael Harris of London's High Court said in his ruling that the lives of Tame and his wife had been shattered by the injury, and that Tame had been transformed by the injury. About 5 percent of the award was given for Tame's pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life; the rest is to go toward his ongoing nursing care provided 10 hours a day. Tame's employer had admitted liability for the injury, but did not accept the size of the award, arguing that Tame would be able to work up to 16 hours a week in the future.

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