Taxi Driver Online

Two men who jumped out of taxi to avoid paying £10 fare are now SUING the driver

Two men who deliberately leapt out of a taxi to avoid paying the £10 fare and suffered head injuries are SUING the driver. Joseph Beaumont and Lewis O’Neill, now both 24, jumped from the vehicle as it drove along Deansgate in July 2009. The pair, who were both 17 at the time, suffered head injuries following the accident and are trying to sue taxi driver, David Ferrer.

The case was rejected initially but is now being appealed at London Appeals Court .

Joseph and Lewis’ barrister, Marc Willems QC, admitted that the youths had agreed among themselves not to pay the cabbie his £10 fare and Mr Ferrer was determined to prevent his passengers from 'making off without payment'. He said three members of the group left the taxi without paying when it reached its destination.

Mr Willems told London Appeals Court that Mr Ferrer then drove off with his three remaining passengers still on board, including Joseph and Lewis. The vehicle’s rear sliding door was still open, and seconds later Joseph and Lewis decided to jump out of the cab.

Joseph ‘miscalculated the risk’ and struck his head on the road after ‘coming out of the vehicle backwards’. Lewis followed his pal also striking the road as Mr Ferrer ‘continued to accelerate away from the corner down Deansgate’. Both men suffered severe head injuries and sued Mr Ferrer for substantial compensation stating he was negligent to drive off at speed to prevent them leaving the taxi.

Lewis’ father, Shaun, said he feared for his son’s life after the incident, saying he needed several operations on his brain. He said: “He was in hospital for months. We weren’t sure he would survive. He had to have several operations on his brain and were told he could have epilepsy and may not even recognise us.” He is still recovering from the crash and still suffers problems.

The Manchester-based taxi driver said he was 'justifiably aggrieved' at the youths’ attempt to dodge paying his fare. He said he could never have foreseen that the pair would take the drastic step of jumping from a moving vehicle, his legal team argued.

In July 2014 Mr Justice Kenneth Parker refused to award Joseph and Lewis compensation. He ruled that they had 'brought about the injury to themselves' whilst trying to evade paying Mr Ferrer’s fare. A decision on the appeal will be given later this year.

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IDFIMH

Karma is a bitch.

The solicitors and barristers (vultures) are always the winners.

I sincerely hope the insurance are covering this and the driver is not going to end up with a £30K + legal bill defending it
and I also hope that they don't win it would be grossly unfair if such idiots get compensated for their own criminal negligence

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

The last time this happened the driver lost.

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Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

I suspect they are on a no win no fee deal, so hopefully they will lose the case and everyone on that side will get what they deserve.

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IDFIMH