The well-known founder of an island travel firm is claiming damages of up to £500,000 for the life-changing injuries he sustained as a pedestrian in a road accident.

Jan Wozniak suffered serious head injuries and was left in a coma for several days after he was knocked down by a car while crossing Woodbourne Road, Douglas, in January 2022.

His family initially feared he would not survive his injuries.

The company he’d set up more than 30 years earlier, Freedom Travel, had to suspend operations as a result.

Now it’s been revealed that Mr Wozniak is suing the driver of the van involved in the collision, alleging negligence and claiming damages of between £300,000 and £500,000.

Details emerged in a judgment handed down in the high court.

The advocate for the defendant argued that the case should be struck out because of alleged defects in the written particulars of claim which did not contain a signed statement of truth or an address for service.

Deemster John Needham noted: ‘The claim is for damages, suggested as being between £300,000 to £500,000, arising as a result of allegedly life-changing personal injuries suffered by the claimant in a road traffic collision occurring on January 9, 2022 in Woodbourne Road, Douglas, when, as a pedestrian, the claimant was allegedly negligently knocked down by a van driven by the defendant.’

In his judgment, Deemster Needham concluded that while there had been a clear breach of the rules, this was ‘neither serious nor particularly significant’.

‘It is not something that significantly prejudices the defendant. The lack of verification is an irregularity but not something that makes the statement of case a nullity,’ the Deemster said.

He said that striking out of the claim for such an infringement would be ‘disproportionate and not in the interests of justice’.

Instead, the Deemster issued an order requiring the claimant or his advocate to verify the particulars of claim by filing a signed and dated statement of truth within 14 days of the judgment.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions in force at the time of the collision, Mr Wozniak’s family had to leave the hospital after he was admitted to the intensive care unit at Noble’s Hospital - and were not able to see him again for a further 10 days.

Speaking to IoM Today six months later, he said had no recollection of the accident, and had only been able to piece together what happened with the help of the police.

He recalled: ‘It was a Sunday, it was midday-ish and I was going to [my son] David’s. But I’ve forgotten what happened.

‘I can’t even remember leaving the house. Nothing’s coming back.’

Mr Wozniak’s astonishing recovery in a matter of months was credited to his active lifestyle, having been a keen runner and cyclist.

Freedom Travel was established in 1989 with the opening of its branch in Strand Street.

It was a pioneer in offering direct flights to sunshine destinations like Tenerife.