Andrew Flintoff crash passenger 'suffered PTSD and back injuries', court documents alleges

The incident occurred when Rees was employed, as part of the BBC's Top Gear programme to film a "power test" of the Morgan Super 3 versus the Toyota GR86 at the Dunsfold Airfield in Surrey between 13th and 15th December 2022.

Rees is a racing driver and has experience as a stunt driver for TV shows, but the particulars of his claim said he had never driven a Morgan Super 3 before.

The incident that injured Rees and Flintoff involved an attempt to drift the three-wheeled car around the airfield's "Chicago" bend, the document states.

"At no time no time did the Defendant [BBC Studios] indicate that such manoeuvres would be dangerous. Indeed, a slide or a skid was intended, forming part of the script written by the Defendant," the particulars of the claim said.

"About 50 minutes after starting driving, the employee entered the "Chicago" corner and accelerated whilst turning the steering wheel on leaving it. As he did so, the vehicle turned upside down, causing injury to both the Claimant [Rees] and the employee [Flintoff]", it adds.

Rees's legal case argues that BBC Studios failed to inform the driver and Flintoff not to attempt to drift the car, or the risk of rolling the vehicle, as well as the "soft signs" that this might happen in three-wheeled cars.

In a statement released before Rees's particulars of claim was made public, BBC Studios said: "We dispute this claim and are defending it. As it's now before the courts, it would be inappropriate to comment further."

In the court documents, Rees has set out the injuries he allegedly suffered as a result of the crash.

Rees said that he "sustained injury to his lumbar spine in the form of an acute exacerbation of lower back pain in an area of pre-existing weakness".

His lawsuit alleged that this impacted upon a ski holiday, as well as his exercise regime as "attempts at strenuous athletic activity would cause significant exacerbations of pain and stiffness".

It is also alleged that Rees suffered psychiatric injury "diagnosed... as a depressive disorder and post traumatic stress disorder".

BBC Studios in its legal response said Rees did not complain of any injuries at the time or after the crash. The company denied it was negligent "as alleged or at all" and said Rees' "faulty instructions" led to the accident.

There were microphones in the car, and BBC Studios said Flintoff expressed concern at one point when the car's front wheel lifted as he took a corner, but was reassured by Rees that it could not roll over.

Approaching the same corner again, Rees told Flintoff to "now turn right... now full power, full power", BBC Studios' defence filings said.

The document claimed that "a front wheel lifted and because on the claimant's instruction the presenter continued to apply power the Morgan turned over".