An appeals court had substantially reduced compensation to the heirs of a  victim of a traffic accident.

Antoine Brincat had died in the accident on November 1, 1993 in Marsa when a car driven by Claudia Camilleri crashed into an electricity pole.

The First Hall of the Civil Court had concluded that Ms Camilleri had lost control of the car which was owned by her brother Raymond Camilleri. The car's insurance cover had expired a few days before the accident.

No evidence was brought to show that Ms Camilleri had been intoxicated while driving and the other passengers in the car had given contradictory evidence about the dynamics of the accident.

The first court concluded that the accident was the result of negligent driving, adding that Ms Camilleri had been out for around 12 hours before the accident occurred.

The first court found Ms Camilleri responsible for the accident and awarded the heirs €149,371 in damages.

Ms Camilleri lodged an appeal to the Court of Appeal composed of Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri, Mr Justice Tonio Mallia and Mr Justice Joseph Azzopardi.

On appeal the court confirmed the findings of the first court that Ms Camilleri was responsible for the accident which had led to the death of Mr Brincat. But the Court of Appeal agreed with Ms Camilleri that the damages awarded by the first court were excessive.

The court therefore reduced the damages to €52,410

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