Paraplegic awarded damages

A 26-year-old man who became a paraplegic in an accident two and a half years ago is to receive damages from the High Court. A Master of the High Court will begin assessment next month for Trevor Francis. Justice Rajendra Narine ruled for Francis against the owner Paul John, the driver of the car, Marvin Norville, and Capital Insurance Limited. On December 21, 2002, Francis was a passenger in PAF 5660 driven by Norville. The vehicle ran off the Eastern Main Road, near the University of the West Indies, St Augustine, and crashed into a wall. Francis received several serious injuries.

John, the owner, took out a policy of insurance for the vehicle on October 30, 2002 for a six-month period. John filled out a proposal form which contained the question: Are you the actual owner of the vehicle and is it registered on your name? The answer which appeared on the form was yes/no. The underwriting clerk who filled out the form at Capital Insurance office at Tunapuna, understood this response to mean that John was the actual owner but the car was not registered in his name. According to the judge, there were three issues for determination.

1) Whether Paul John was the actual owner of the vehicle at the time he contracted the policy of insurance.
2) Assuming that he was not the owner at the material time, whether the insurer was entitled to avoid the policy for material non-disclosure and/or on the basis that John had no insurable interest in the vehicle at the material time.
3) Whether the insurer was entitled to rely on the condition contained in the proposal and the certificate which purports to restrict the driving of the vehicle to persons over the age of 25 years and holding a valid driver’s permit for two years, as a defence to a third party claim.

Lennox Sanguinette, attorney for Capital Insurance, called Winston Lewis, an 83-year-old retired police officer, and who worked with Capital Insurance for 20 years. Prakash Deonarine, attorney for the injured Francis, called Dyanand Patrick, a law clerk whose duties included service of documents and investigations. Patrick said he visited John who informed him that he was the owner of the vehicle.

Justice Narine said he considered the evidence of the two witnesses. He found that Lewis, 83, had not refreshed his memory from the statement he had taken two years before.  Lewis’ memory was hazy. By contrast, Patrick’s evidence was clear. Justice Narine found on the evidence, that John was the owner of the vehicle on the date of the accident. He gave judgment for Francis against John, Norville, and Capital Insurance. He also ordered that the defendants pay costs to Francis.