Court orders driver to pay Lm16,000 damages

Two people injured in a traffic accident in 1994 and the owners of the car they were in were yesterday awarded over Lm16,000 damages by Mr Justice Philip Sciberras in the First Hall of the Civil Court.

Sylvia Degiorgio, Noel Bellotti and Emanuel and Ludgarda Agius filed their writ against curators to represent Massimiliano Da Crema.

Degiorgio and Bellotti claimed they had sustained permanent injuries when a car driven by Da Crema had collided into them. At the time of the accident Degiorgio and Bellotti were driving a car owned by Emanuel and Ludgarda Agius.

All plaintiffs claimed that defendant was totally responsible for the accident as he had been driving on the wrong side of the road. The court was requested to condemn Da Crema to make good the damages sustained.

The court noted that there was no doubt that Da Crema was totally responsible for the accident as indeed he had been driving on the wrong side of the road.

The Agius' car was deemed to be a total write-off as a result of the accident and both Degiorgio and Bellotti sustained personal injuries.

When liquidating the damages the court ordered Da Crema to pay Lm1,100 to the Agius' in respect of their car.

Da Crema was ordered to pay Lm11,470 damages to Degiorgio and Lm3,200 damages to Bellotti.