BBC sued for £3.7million by TV presenter who got whiplash in crash test dummy experiment

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The BBC is being sued for £3.7million by a TV host who volunteered to be a crash test dummy got whiplash. 

Jem Stansfield, 46, is taking the broadcaster to a damages trial after being left with injuries sustained from filming series, Bang Goes The Theory in 2014. 

The educational show, which aimed to explain the science behind topical news stories, featured an episode on car accidents, with Mr Stansfield agreeing to take part in an experiment recreating a slow-motion crash. 

Sitting into a cart, engineering expert Mr Stansfield explained he would be sent down a track and into a lamppost, with a ‘crumple zone’ absorbing some of the impact. 

He added that he knew it wasn’t going to be a ‘wholly pleasant experience’, and appeared nervous before being set off, but that he had created the rig. 

However, after being propelled into the lamppost and his head clearly jerking forward at a speed, he was left feeling ill.

Stansfield now says that he has disabling whiplash, brain damage, psychological scars and dizziness.

Mr Stansfield’s lawyers told London’s High Court that his chances of recovery are ‘poor’, and claims he has lost out on a large number of earnings and ‘a career on the same level as Jeremy Clarkson’. 

The BBC disputes the impact of his injuries and the payout figure, offering him two-thirds of his claim with a discount due to his ‘contributory negligence’. 

Since his time on the show, he has not had any credits to his name, with the exception of being an executive producer on series, Street Genius.

Metro.co.uk has contacted the BBC for comment.

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