Two men injured jumping out of taxi to dodge fare lose bid to sue taxi driver Joseph Beaumont and Lewis O’Neill, now both 24, jumped from the vehicle and suffered life changing injuries
Two teenagers injured when they jumped from a moving cab in a bid to dodge a £10 fare have had their bid to SUE the taxi driver snubbed by a judge.
Joseph Beaumont, Lewis O’Neill and four friends all decided to “jump” a cab on the evening of July 27, 2009, and cabbie David Ferrer picked them up in Salford.
They asked to be taken into town but the experienced cabbie, who was at the wheel of his Nissan Serena minivan, quickly realised what the youths were planning to do.
Mr Ferrer had been stabbed and robbed by a group of young passengers the previous year and was in fear of his life, London’s Appeal Court heard.
When he stopped on Deansgate, three of the youths leaped out and ran away - leaving Beaumont, O’Neill and an 11-year-old still inside.
Mr Ferrer said he “panicked” at the memory of being cornered in a cul-de-sac by youths the year before, stabbed twice and seriouisly injured.
It was “like deja vu”, said the cabbie who was also “justifiably aggrieved” and “understandably angry” at the attempt to rip him off.
He drove off with one of the cab’s sliding doors still open and Beaumont jumped out backwards onto the road.
O’Neill followed him out seconds later and both teenagers suffered severe, life changing head injuries.
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.
Their lawyers argued that Mr Ferrer was negligent in driving off with the door open and two of his passengers not wearing seatbelts and said Mr Ferrer should have given in to the young criminals and “resigned himself to the loss of his fare”.
The case was rejected initially but was appealed at London Appeals Court,
Ruling on the case today, Lord Justice Longmore said it was “regrettably all too foreseeable” that Beaumont and O’Neill would try to get away.
Although his reluctance to lose his fare was “understandable” that was “not an excuse” for the risk Mr Ferrer took.
But the judge went on to rule that any fault on the cabbie’s part was “simply overwhelmed” by the teenagers' recklessness and criminal intent.
Fearing attack, Mr Ferrer was in “a difficult dilemma” . He was intent on driving them to the nearest police station and the teenagers could have strapped themselves in and safely awaited justice, said the judge.
“However, each chose not to do so but rather to position himself at an opened door of the taxi and to jump out of the taxi as it was moving away.
Mum thanks hero taxi driver who saved baby's life by clearing airways after he stopped breathing
“Neither had any legitimate reason for this deliberate and utterly reckless decision,” added the judge, sitting with Lords Justice Moore-Bick and Beatson.
The court’s decision backed up the long-established legal principle that criminals forfeit their compensation rights if they are injured in the course of illegal acts.
There were, said Lord Justice Longmore, powerful “public policy” reasons why Beaumont and O’Neill, now 24, should go uncompensated.
source:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/tw ... ar_twitter
Login
Register
FAQ
