A television presenter hurt while playing the role of a “crash test dummy” during a UK science programme has been awarded £1.6 million in damages after a High Court fight with the BBC.

Justice Yip heard how Jeremy Stansfield was injured while carrying out “crash tests” in a specially designed “rig” during the BBC programme Bang Goes The Theory in February 2013.

Stansfield said he suffered spine and brain injuries and lost more than £3 million in potential future earnings.

The BBC disputed Stansfield’s damages claim.

Justice Yip oversaw a trial at the High Court in London earlier this year and delivered a ruling on Friday.

“I have found that the claimant was caused injury to his brain, spine and audio-vestibular system in the crash tests,” she said in her ruling.

“While none of the physical injuries were particularly severe, the combined effect together with a psychiatric reaction have caused a constellation of symptoms and problems which have produced a significant impairment in the claimant’s functioning.

The effect has been to derail the claimant’s successful career in television as well as to restrict his enjoyment of life more generally.

“There is strong evidence that prior to the crash tests he was an exceptionally fit man.”

She said there would be judgment for Stansfield in the sum of £1,617,286.20.

Justice Yip said the parties had agreed that Stansfield should recover “two-thirds of the damages assessed as being caused by injuries he sustained when carrying out the crash tests”.

She said Stansfield was now 50, and was 42 at the time of the crash tests.

“There is strong evidence that prior to the crash tests he was an exceptionally fit man,” she said.

“Video footage from the time shows that he was slim but with strong musculature. There are clips of him balancing and walking on his hands and scaling a building using vacuum gloves he created.”

“In 2012, the BBC required him to undergo a physical assessment before undertaking a project involving a human powered aircraft, which he had designed.”

“The results suggested he was performing at the level of a competitive athlete.”

Justice Yip said Stansfield, who is known as “Jem”, was a presenter on the “popular” Bang Goes The Theory show.

She said he was an engineer by background.

“This claim arises out of the making of an episode of Bang Goes The Theory in which the claimant assumed the role of a human ‘crash test dummy’ for a feature about the relative safety of forward and rearward-facing child car seats.”

“During filming on 8 February 2013, the claimant conducted a series of crash tests. He was strapped into a rig like a go-cart which was propelled along a track into a post.”

“In the introduction to the piece, the claimant explains that he had calculated the experiment to give a similar crash profile to hitting a lamppost in a real car in an urban environment.”

“The crashes were performed forwards and backwards twice each. It is not in dispute, and perhaps not surprising, that the claimant suffered some injury. What is contentious is the extent of that injury and the consequences for the claimant.”

Stansfield said he had been left with a constellation of symptoms which had produced a significant decline in his health.

Justice Yip said the BBC contended that “little more than a moderate whiplash injury with depressive symptoms could properly be attributed to the crash tests, such as would give rise to only modest damages”.