€190,000 in damages for couple who lost toddler in road crash

A couple has been awarded €190,000 in damages following the death of their two-year-old son in a traffic accident 17 years ago.

Ten per cent of the money will have to be paid by the government after the courts found that the accident partially happened because of a hole in a badly-lit road.

The Court of Appeal confirmed a court judgment and condemned the "casual attitude" of public road authorities, adding that it was their duty to ensure that roads were maintained safe.

The court heard how in the evening of December 17, 1991, Joseph and Teresa Monreal and their 28-month son, Sorin-Valentin, were in a car in Notabile Road, Mrieħel, heading towards Rabat.

Piju Grech was driving in the opposite direction on that rainy night.

He lost control of his car, mounted the centre strip, hit the trees that divided the lanes and crashed against the car driven by Mr Monreal.

The child died in the accident while Mr and Mrs Monreal were injured.

In 1993, the Monreals filed a lawsuit in the First Hall of the Civil Court against Mr Grech, the Director General of Works and the Minister for the Environment.

Mr Grech claimed that he was not responsible for the accident as this had been caused by a large hole in the road, which hole had not been filled nor lit up.

The first court had found in favour of the Monreal family and held that Mr Grech was responsible for 90 per cent for the accident while the authorities were responsible for the remaining 10 per cent.

However, the authorities took the case to the Court of Appeal composed of Chief Justice Vincent Degaetano, Mr Justice Albert J. Magri and Madam Justice Anna Felice.

The evidence produced left the court with no doubt that Mr Grech had been driving at an excessive speed for his car had made a 74-metre long brake mark. This was also confirmed by the fact that he had mounted the centre strip and collided with the Monreals' car at a high speed.

The court also found that a connection existed between the accident and the hole in the road. Had Mr Grech not been startled by the hole in the road, the accident would not have occurred.

Furthermore, the hole was not lit up nor was it surrounded by barriers.