Judgment obtained to pursue action under Uninsured Drivers Agreement
15/7/2011
Mr O'Brien suffered life threatening and catastrophic injuries, particularly a brain injury, in a road traffic accident in July 2002. His family had instructed another firm of solicitors shortly after the accident but decided, at the end of 2008, to instruct Potter Rees to take over conduct of the matter.
The accident was unhappily, a hit and run. The police investigated and although there was one main suspect, the police deemed there was insufficient evidence to bring a criminal prosecution which would have to show 'beyond reasonable doubt' that the suspect Mr Shorrock, was the driver. Mr O'Brien's porevious solicitors concluded also that there was insufficient evidence to bring a civil court case against Mr Shorrock, in which it would have to be shown on 'the balance of probabilities' that Mr Shorrock was the driver. Accordingly, the previous solicitors agreed with the Motor Insurers Bureau that a claim should proceed on the 'Untraced Drivers Agreement'.
When Potter Rees took over conduct of the matter in late 2008, we reviewed the file in its entirety. We took the view that, even some six and a half years after the accident, all proper steps to investigate the identity of the driver needed to be taken.
Unfortunately, a lot of the police evidence had not been preserved because of the passage of time. Nonetheless, we took statements from the police officers who investigated the accident and took the view that there was enough evidence still available to prove to a civil court that Mr Shorrock was indeed the driver.
The case was heard before Mr Justice King on 13th and 14th June 2011. There were numerous coincidences which pointed to Mr Shorrock being the driver, including an anonymous tip-off, a description of the driver that matched Mr Shorrock, Mr Shorrock admitting himself that he had been in the car on the day prior to the accident and the car being abandoned within half a mile of Mr Shorrock's home. Mr Justice King agreed with us that the coincidences we convincing enough, when added together, to safetly conclude that Mr Shorrock was indeed the driver. This contention was opposed throughout by the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB).
This Judgment means that we can now proceed with a claim for damages on Mr O'Brien's behalf against the MIB under the 'Uninsured Drivers Agreement' as opposed to the 'Untraced Drivers Agreement'. There are numerous advantages to Mr O'Brien using the Uninsured Drivers Agreement which includes, the Court taking control of the timetable of the case, being able to request interim damages payments and having a High Court Judge determine the overall level of damages. The funding process for the Uninsured Drivers Agreement also allows more flexibility and freedom for Potter Rees to choose and instruct highly regarded experts to challeneg the expert evidence put forward by the MIB.
This Judgment is a huge turning point in Mr O'Brien's case and will make a massive difference to the outcome of his claim.
Potter Rees are now in the process of gathering more evidence and reports to support our argument that Mr O'Brien should be cared for at home, in suitable accommodation by an employed care team.
Hugh Potter and Nicola Mepstead are acting on behalf of Mr O'Brien
