Taxi passenger awarded more than $760K after being delivered to wrong address
May 15, 201110:45AM
A Gold Coast mother has been awarded more than $760,000 in what is thought to be the first time in Australia a taxi driver has been found negligent for failing to ensure an intoxicated passenger was delivered to the correct address.
Elizabeth French was awarded the payout in Brisbane Supreme Court on Friday, bringing to an end more than seven years of legal battles since her husband Stephen Crouch, 36, was killed on Currumburra Rd, Ashmore just 5km west of Gold Coast's city centre.
The couple were at a party on May 31, 2003 when ms French, who was heavily pregnant at the time, went home leaving her husband to drink with his friends, the Gold Coast Bulletin reported.
Hours later, an intoxicated Mr Crouch was put into a cab by his mates who told the driver his address, however he was dropped at the wrong place and, in an attempt to get himself home, was hit by two vehicles and died at the scene.
Justice George Fryberg on Friday found the cab driver, Stephen Earea, had left Mr Crouch lying on the side of a road when he was unable to find his actual address.
Earea died before the trial began, leaving his insurance company QBE to foot the bill after it "consented to be substituted for him in respect of the liability alleged against him."
Source; http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaki ... 6056138870
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