The Court of Appeal reduced compensation awarded to the heirs of a man who died after a traffic accident 21 years ago, deeming the original amount excessive.

The heirs of the late Antoine Brincat submitted in the First Hall of the Civil Court that Mr Brincat, 24, was a passenger in a Suzuki Swift driven by Claudia Camilleri, 21, when she lost control of the car and crashed into an electricity pole in Marsa in November 1993. Mr Brincat died as a result.

The court had concluded that Ms Camilleri had lost control of the vehicle, owned by her brother, Raymond. 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 and the other passengers in the car gave conflicting evidence on what had happened.

The first court concluded that the accident was the result of negligent driving, adding that Ms Camilleri had been out for about 12 hours when the accident occurred. Ms Camilleri was declared responsible for the accident and the court awarded Mr Brincat’s heirs €149,371 in damages.

Ms Camilleri appealed.

On appeal, the court confirmed the findings of the first court, agreeing that Ms Camilleri was responsible for the accident that had led to Mr Brincat’s death.

It however concluded that the damages awarded by the first court were excessive and reduced the amount to €52,410.