A teenage boy who was seriously injured in a traffic accident, that occurred when his friend was driving his mother’s van without a licence, has his compensation increased from €45,700 to €64,000

The accident happened on October 3, 2010, when an 18-year-old boy - who did not have a driving licence - drove three of his friends in his mother’s van. 

The van collided head-on with another car as it tried to overtake in Bidnija. Two of the passengers, who were brothers aged 15 and 17, suffered serious injuries. 

The younger brother injured his jaw and gum and had his teeth knocked out on impact. The elder brother had various injuries on his legs and arms and required an operation. He suffered a 15 per cent disability.

The mother of the brothers filed a civil case against the driver and his mother. The driver’s mother claimed she did not know her son was going to drive the van. He had told her that a friend of his, who had a license, needed to borrow it.

But the court found that both driver and mother were responsible for what happened: although the driver was at the wheel, his mother - as the owner of the van - should have been more vigilant over who was using her vehicle.

The court ordered them to pay € 7,050 in damages to the younger brother and €45,714 to the older brother.

The driver and the mother appealed as did the mother of the brothers. The appeal of the driver and his mother was declared abandoned as it was not followed up on.

However, the appeal court upheld the appeal of the brothers and increased damages for the elder brother to €64,000.

Lawyers Veronique Dalli and Andrew Saliba represented the brothers.