A Bit Late For Work

[clarion]

The civil claim was agreed ages ago - last year IIRC.  I would be surprised if he hasn't been paid by now.

Hopefully he turns up online (he said he would) and can clarify.

[Access Legal Guy]

If the civil claim had already been settled it's likely that there would either be a court order indicating when payment should be made, or if settled without the need for litigation then proceedings can be issued to recover the agreed figure for a breach of a concluded agreement, if payment has not been made.

If not settled then there would still be two options.

1 - Name the driver as the Defendant - Connaught's insurers may well still cover him. If they do not then will he have any money to pay in any event. The court could order payemnt in instalments.

2 - Slightly more tricky, apply to the court to have the Company (or it's directors) re-instated, and go direct for them.

[rathan]

Hi,

Apologies for the late post regarding the conclusion of this case (I’ve been away since Friday). I don’t want to bore you all and drag this post out for much longer (2 years and 16 pages seems plenty!) but I do just want to thank Clarion for his evidence in court. This was the 2nd day he had to take off work, with the 1st hearing back in March which we attended for half a day, but was then postponed due to lack of court time. Some witnesses may well have chosen not to turn up a 2nd time as there is no personal gain for him, so I really do appreciate his patience and time.

Having an independent witness who gave strong and confident evidence in court was what certainly titled the case in my favour. Otherwise it would simply have my been my version of events against the driver’s. His defence was supported by his co-driver, who really revelled in putting on a ‘performance’ in court, and seemed to suffer from memory illusion of the accident in the 2 years that have elapsed.

As the case progressed, I was getting worried as the prosecution lawyer appeared very weak, and not pinning this guy down on the proper details, but as Clarion mentioned, the Judge was excellent and was just focussed on the plain facts of the case. The defence lawyer tried make up her own version of events and shift the blame on me (which wasn’t a very pleasant experience).

It was a relief when the guilty verdict against the driver was reached. It felt like justice had been done. Emotions then turned more to anger when it then transpired that the driver already had 6 points on his license, 3 for driving with a mobile phone in April of this year…only 1 month after we were all at court for the 1st scheduled hearing! He obviously still has failed to learn any lessons from our 1st encounter. I come away feeling he should consider himself fortunate to still be free to drive on our roads, and hope his time in the court room is the wake-up call he needs.


I note the last few posts about the civil claim. I am a member of CTC, and through RJW, the case was settled towards the end of last year.

Once again, sincere thanks to Clarion. I am in no doubt his evidence was the difference in the case. Having been through the physical injuries of the accident, it would have been a psychological blow if the driver had not been found guilty. I am not a regular on this forum, but I did want to post this and express my thanks to Clarion for his kindnesses on the day of the accident 2 years ago, and then supporting my case through to conclusion last week. A couple of years on from the accident, it’s time to turn the page to a new chapter now.

[clarion]

Good to see you posting, Rathan.  Hope you get back to riding normally again.

[her_welshness]

Bravo Rathan and Clarion  

[Ham]

For sure, the best conclusion to a sorry tale.

How he kept his license is a wonder, but at least the truth came out and he was found guilty.

Score one for the good guys.

[Greenbank]

Well, so the driver in this case was spared losing his license by one point in order that he didn't lose his job, but today, less than a week later, the company, Connaught, is going into receivership, so he may well lose his job anyway.

2500 keep their jobs, 700 to be made redundant.

BBC News - Connaught sale to Morgan Sindall saves 2,500 jobs

[clarion]

I hope they decide to keep their safer drivers.

[RJ]

... but I guess it'll be the cheaper ones (or those more expensive to get rid of)

[SlowCoach]

It appears to me that it merely depends on which local authority contract staff are employed on. No one will be looking at competencies. Exeter, I believe, has gone already because Connaught undercut by so much that no-one else will look at taking over the contract - that contract appears to be a lossmaker for anyone. The local authority contracts will be sold off one by one - the ones with the highest profit margin have been bought already. What will be left are the contracts where the local authorities who've bargained down too far. It will be interesting to see what happens there - will the contract be renegotiated at a higher price with someone else or will the tenants have no maintenance? Have Connaught gone under because of anticipated local authority cutbacks as they claim, or because of their well known "suicide bidding" tactics which has caught them out before they cornered the market.

[clarion]

I was starkly reminded of all this this morning as I saw the aftermath of what seemed to be a re-run.  At the junction of Clapham Road/Dorset Road, I saw a coach stopped with its door open, askew across the road - probably mid-left turn.

I pulled over, and saw a rider lying on the pavement.  He was conscious, fortunately, and seemed to be texting.  There were two cyclists there who seemed to have control of the situation.  I asked if my first aid skills might be helpful, but they said they were OK and the ambulance was on its way.

I hope that the Police dealing with this case are more competent, and don't:

a) lose the case file

or

b) talk bollocks when they get to court.