A PEDESTRIAN left with a life-changing brain injury by the son of ex-footballer Ally McCoist has accepted an out-of-court settlement in a £500,000 law suit.
Stephan Murdoch was using a pedestrian crossing in his home village when Argyll McCoist hit him with a £20,000 sports car.
The then-18-year-old was speeding and had no insurance.
His victim spent a week in hospital with a fractured skull, brain bleed and fractured leg.
He was also left on crutches for six months after the incident, which took place in Renfrewshire village Bishopton in December 2016.
McCoist, from nearby Houston, admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving and driving without insurance at Paisley Sheriff Court last year.
The court heard how he ran a red light in the Audi 1 S Line TDI before striking the 21-year-old pedestrian and driving off.
McCoist was sentenced to 280 hours of unpaid work and banned from driving for three and a half years, at the end of which he will have to resit an extended test to gain permission to get behind the wheel again.
He was also electronically tagged in a six-month restriction of liberty order.
Solicitors for Mr Murdoch launched a £500,000 action against McCoist at Scotland's highest civil court in August.
Today they announced that an undisclosed settlement has been reached.
The victim had sought damages related to his injuries as well as loss of earnings and the cost of specialised treatment.
A hearing had been set for later this month, but will no longer take place.
Chris Stewart, partner at Digby Brown Solicitors and head of its serious injury department, said: "Mr Murdoch suffered injuries that will adversely impact the rest of his life.
"He has shown tremendous fortitude throughout and I am proud that we have been able to help as he looks to the future."
The criminal court case heard how McCoist sped through Bishopton before striking Mr Murdoch at around 9.30pm.
The accused wept in the dock and Paisley Sheriff Court heard how a US college scholarship had been refused on account of the driving charges.
Prosecutors also revealed that Mr Murdoch had developed sleep problems, anxiety and depression.
Passing sentence, Sheriff Pettigrew noted McCoist's "expression of remorse and distress for the profound consequences for Mr Murdoch".
Handing down the judgement, he stated: “I am satisfied that you are genuinely remorseful, bitterly regretting the manner of your driving, which, while neither planned nor premeditated was undoubtedly reckless and immature.”
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