Motorcyclist wins Lm12,000 damages

A driver injured in a traffic accident in 2001 was awarded almost Lm12,000 in damages by Mr Justice Joseph Azzopardi in the First Hall of the Civil Court.

Damian Micallef filed his writ against Rita Bonello claiming that he had been driving a motorbike in Mdina Road, Attard, when he was involved in an accident with a car driven by Ms Bonello.

He claimed that Ms Bonello was totally to blame for the accident and he called upon the court to order her to pay him damages.

The court heard that Mr Micallef was driving his motorbike behind the car driven by Ms Bonello.

He claimed that she had stopped her car suddenly in order to turn into a secondary road, while Ms Bonello claimed that she had taken every precaution, and that it was while she was starting to turn that he had tried to overtake her and caused the collision.

Mr Justice Azzopardi said that case law on this type of traffic accident was conflicting, but that as the defendant was turning off a principal road to a secondary road, she was bound to take all precautions so as not to cause harm to herself or to others.

The court concluded that when Ms Bonello had started to turn off the principal road, the plaintiff had already started to overtake her, and this meant that it was not safe for her to turn the car.

However, the defendant, as the driver of the overtaking vehicle, was also duty bound to ensure that this manoeuvre was carried out safely and with great caution.

The court therefore concluded that Ms Bonello bore two-thirds of the responsibility for the accident while Mr Micallef bore responsibility for the remaining third.

In liquidating the damages sustained the court heard that Mr Micallef had suffered a 12 per cent permanent disability.

The court therefore liquidated the damages in the sum of Lm17,787.62. Ms Bonello was ordered to pay two-thirds of this sum to the plaintiff, namely the sum of Lm11,858.41.