UPDATE - Wilkinson v Fitzgerald - 1st December 2011
1/12/2011
The European Court of Justice has handed down Judgment in our case of Wilkinson v Fitzgerald and Churchill Insurance Company Limited following referral to it by the Court of Appeak regarding interpretation of s151(8) of the Road Traffic Act 1988. Previously, insurance companies have relied upon s158(8) to whithold compensation from injured passengers whenever they gave permission to drive to their negligent driver, where that driver was not insured.
The European Court ruled that:
- The effect of the Road Traffic Act is to deny insurance cover to a victim of an accident;
- European law does not allow this at least where this happens 'automatically' whenever the victim gives permission to another to drive who was not insured under the insurance policy that would have provided cover;
- The issue of insurance cover is to be determined by the European Court and must be distinguished from matters of civil liability to be determined by national law;
- It does not matter that, if there had been no insurance at all, the Motor Insurers Bureau allws the Court to consider what the victim knew, or should have known, about the absence of insurance.
This case will now be sent back to the Court of Appeal.
The links to the details of the Court of Appeal referral and the ECJ judgment can be found here
Link to previous news article can be found here:
Hugh Potter is acting for the Claimant
