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Mistaken identity in road traffic accident

Date:

21st February 2012

Team:

Civil.

Richard Paige and Keoghs successfully acted on behalf of a policyholder of RBSI (Tesco) in a case of mistaken identity in a road traffic accident.

The Claimant claimed damages for personal injury, pre-accident value of his vehicle, recovery and storage, credit hire and miscellaneous expenses arising out of a road traffic accident. He alleged that the Defendant had driven into the rear of his vehicle at traffic lights. The Defendant denied involvement in any accident.

The Claimant was able to provide a detailed description of the Defendant, the type of vehicle he was driving, its registration number, where the Defendant lived and the Defendant’s mobile phone number. The Defendant’s explanation was that he had been advertising fishing equipment on a poster in the window of his vehicle which bore his photograph and mobile phone number. The Defendant however accepted that he drove past the accident location at about the time of the accident.

Forensic engineering evidence agreed that the damage to the Claimant’s vehicle was not consistent with it having been caused by the Defendant’s vehicle. It also transpired during cross-examination that the Claimant was a recovery driver and that the invoice for recovery and storage was raised in a different trading name of the company for whom he worked and which was also the owner of his vehicle.

The claim was dismissed with costs, it being held that the Claimant had failed to satisfy the Court that the accident had occurred with the Defendant as alleged.