Mr JQV, an avid motor cyclist hit by a runaway taxi received substantial compensation after engaging Gerard Malouf & Partners motor accident compensation lawyers to act for him. He had aspirations of becoming an architect and had attended university for his formal. He was also a person who appreciated his family working on a full-time basis in the family business of a Chinese restaurant. He was an integral part of the Chinese restaurant as his parents could not speak English and required him to attend upon kitchen duties as well as dining room duties.
In 2010, he sustained injuries when a taxi passed him on the M5 motorway without providing sufficient distance to clear him, clipping his motorcycle, forcing him to fall on to the road at high speed. Despite the horrific nature of the accident, the taxi driver continued to drive without stopping at the scene of an accident and to provide assistance. It was only because of the passer-by who witnessed the accident and pursued the taxi that the accident was able to be notified to the police.
Despite the horrific nature of this accident and heinous actions of the taxi driver wanting to flee the accident scene, liability in this matter was initially denied and then contributory negligence was asserted. This had the effect of causing our client to not receive the full range of reasonably incurred medical treatment that he needed to assist him in his recovery. This had the detrimental effect of causing him further suffering, more than he should have experienced.
Our claim sustained an exacerbation of his injuries which included serious psychological injuries.
His physical injuries which included injuries to his neck, back, right shoulder, right arm, right leg, prevented him from continuing to work for his parents in the Chinese restaurant as he was having difficulty standing for long periods, sitting for long periods and lifting heavy objects which included the patron’s dinner plates. As a consequence, the restaurant was forced to be sold.
His psychological injuries included serious depression which then spiralled into or auditoria hallucination, loss of contact with reality and grandiose ideations.
His physical injuries recovered well leaving him with some permanent impairment but not enough to exceed the threshold for non-economic loss compensation. His psychological injuries, however, which remained serious, from a medical perspective was difficult to be attributed to the motor-vehicle accident itself, despite it having a higher likelihood of being the trigger mechanism for an underlying predisposition.
Because his employment was for the family business, the majority of his income was also cash in hand.
All the factors above made it very difficult to enter into negotiations with the insurer.
Negotiations continued for the better half of the year as the solicitors of Gerard Malouf and partners refused to succumb to the delays of the insurer. Eventually we were able to obtain an amount of $200,000.00 in injury compensation which is the appropriate amount for our client.
