A motorist has been ordered to pay a woman €8,100 in compensation for a three per cent disability she suffered as a result of a traffic accident a few days before Christmas 2006. 

Charmaine Chetcuti was awarded the damages after a court found that the motorist, John Wilson, was solely responsible for the traffic accident in Triq l-Erba Mwiezeb in St Paul's Bay on December 23, 2006. 

Mr Justice Anthony Ellul, however, found that the driver of another car, Dunstan Farrugia, was not to blame for the crash.

Ms Chetcuti was a passenger in Mr Farrugia's Peugeot 206 which was involved in a collision with an oncoming Renault Clio, being driven by Mr Wilson. 

Ms Chetcuti filed her compensation claim against both Mr Wilson and Mr Farrugia but the court found that the latter was not responsible for the accident. 

The court heard Ms Chetcuti and her mother, who was also a passenger in the car, explain how they saw the Clio mounted the central strip before crossing over to their lane and crashing into their car. 

Medical court experts quantified the disability at eight per cent but the report was dated March 2007. She was re-examined in February 2014 and the percentage of disability was lowered to three. 

The court heard how Ms Chetcuti suffered no fractures but damage to tissues around bones in her neck. 

As he calculated the compensation owed, Mr Justice Ellul noted how Ms Chetcuti filed her claim for damages in March 2009 and the court case took six years because she took her time to bring evidence. For this reason, the court reduced the compensation by 12 per cent and fixed it at €8,100, including €550 already spent in medical expenses.