Personal Injury Solicitors

A man injured in a road accident while he was taking part in criminal activity has won the right to claim compensation in a High Court ruling.

Sean Delaney was cut from the wreckage of a Mercedes he was a passenger in while engaging in drug dealing activities with an associate who was driving.

Mr Delaney was never interviewed or charged with drug offences by police, even though 240 grams of cannabis were discovered in his jacket by emergency crews attending the scene of the crash in Nuneaton, Warwickshire in November 2006.

The driver of the car, Shane Pickett, was charged with criminal offences including drug possession and dangerous driving.

Delaney, however, suffered severe physical injuries, as well as traumatic amnesia as a result of the road accident.

He had tried to win compensation from Pickett’s car insurer, but failed because of an exclusion clause relating to the Uninsured Drivers' Agreement 1999.

The Court of Appeal ruled, however, that the claim was not barred on the grounds of public policy, as criminality relating to drugs had not caused the road accident.

Delaney then took legal action against the Secretary of State for Transport over the exclusion clause, claiming that it was incompatible with EU law.

The High Court ruled in Delaney’s favour and said that the Transport Minister was “in clear breach of the law”.

Mr Justice Jay added:

“Many readers may be wondering how it comes about that a drug dealer is entitled to compensation against Her Majesty's Government, in circumstances where he was injured during the course of a criminal joint enterprise.

"The understandable reaction might be there must be some rule of public policy reflecting public revulsion, which bars such a claim. The short answer is that there is not.

"The Court of Appeal held in terms that the insurer's public policy defence failed on these facts, and that must be the end of that matter in terms of domestic law.

"The relevant European Directives clearly state that there are only limited exceptions to liability in these circumstances and that, too, must be the end of the matter as a matter of Community law."

Delaney suffered life-threatening injuries as a result of the road accident, the court heard – and has been left with a degree of cognitive impairment referred to as “intellectual blunting”.

The level of damages he may be entitled to will be established at a further hearing, the date of which has yet to be set.

Duncan Lewis Personal Injury Solicitors for Road Traffic Accidents

Duncan Lewis is a leading firm of personal injury solicitors, with a successful track record in winning compensation for the victims of road traffic accidents (RTAs).

No win no fee compensation claims for RTAs usually have to be made within three years of the date of injury – low-value claims for injuries sustained in RTAs are fast-tracked through the RTA Claims Portal.

High-value compensation claims for RTA injuries – including life-changing injuries or serious injuries – can be made in the civil court.

For expert legal advice on no win no fee Road Traffic Accident Claims, contact Duncan Lewis personal injury solicitors on 020 7923 4020.