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Man sues friend over drink-driving accident
02 Feb 12
Man sues friend over drink-driving accident
TWO friends who allegedly went on an eight-hour drinking binge to celebrate one's promotion have ended up on opposite sides of a High Court suit.
Mr Hanrence Loo, 25, was a passenger in a car driven by Mr Yaw Chien Lik, 30, when it plunged into a canal on their way home, leaving him with serious head injuries and blind in one eye.
Mr Loo is now seeking damages for negligence from Mr Yaw.
But the car insurers are rejecting Mr Loo's claims - and appear to have sent a warning to passengers that they may get nothing if they are involved in an accident after getting into a car knowing that the driver was drunk.
At issue in the test case for the court is whether the passenger should partly or wholly shoulder the blame for his own injuries, or deserves damages if he knew the driver was drunk.
A High Court pre-trial conference was held yesterday and the case is expected to be heard later this year.
Mr Loo and Mr Yaw, together with 23-year-old Raymond Tan - all navy regulars - went to Boat Quay for drinks at about 8pm on May 11, 2009.
About an hour later, they left for the Sabai Sabai nightclub in Shenton Way, where they met another friend and drank until about 4am the next morning, according to defence papers filed.
Mr Yaw then offered to drive the other two home. But at a bend along West Coast Road, his Honda Civic careered off the road, collided into a barrier on the left and crashed into the canal.
Mr Loo suffered serious head injuries and spent around two weeks in hospital after being pulled unconscious from the car. The accident left him blind in the right eye.
Police arrested Mr Yaw for suspected drink driving.
Mr Loo, through his lawyer Deepak Natverlal, is alleging that Mr Yaw was negligent, which led to the accident and his injuries.
Among other things, he claims Mr Yaw drove at an excessive speed, failed to keep a proper lookout and lost control of the car, which led to it skidding and crashing.
He is seeking compensation for medical expenses, loss of earning capacity and future transport expenses, among other things.
It is believed the claims may add up to about $500,000.
Among other things, Mr Loo points out that before he got into the car, he had asked Mr Yaw if he was fine and could drive.
But the company that insured Mr Yaw's vehicle, Allianz Insurance, is contesting the claims. It points out that Mr Loo knew that Mr Yaw had been drinking for more than eight hours and there were no reasonable grounds to believe that he was sober.
Its lawyer Niru Pillai, in defence papers filed, highlighted Mr Loo's claim to have seen Mr Yaw emerge from the nightclub at about 4.10am embroiled in a quarrel with an unknown person, which included shouting.
He argued that this should have alerted Mr Loo to the fact that Mr Yaw was in a drunken state, and that he placed himself at risk by entering the car.
Allianz Insurers added in the defence papers that Mr Loo should have known better than to get into a car with a driver who was in a drunken state, and he was in a position to ascertain this at the time.
It claims Mr Loo caused or contributed to his injuries through his own negligence.
Source: Straits Times
Man sues friend over drink-driving accident
02 Feb 12
Man sues friend over drink-driving accident
TWO friends who allegedly went on an eight-hour drinking binge to celebrate one's promotion have ended up on opposite sides of a High Court suit.
Mr Hanrence Loo, 25, was a passenger in a car driven by Mr Yaw Chien Lik, 30, when it plunged into a canal on their way home, leaving him with serious head injuries and blind in one eye.
Mr Loo is now seeking damages for negligence from Mr Yaw.
But the car insurers are rejecting Mr Loo's claims - and appear to have sent a warning to passengers that they may get nothing if they are involved in an accident after getting into a car knowing that the driver was drunk.
At issue in the test case for the court is whether the passenger should partly or wholly shoulder the blame for his own injuries, or deserves damages if he knew the driver was drunk.
A High Court pre-trial conference was held yesterday and the case is expected to be heard later this year.
Mr Loo and Mr Yaw, together with 23-year-old Raymond Tan - all navy regulars - went to Boat Quay for drinks at about 8pm on May 11, 2009.
About an hour later, they left for the Sabai Sabai nightclub in Shenton Way, where they met another friend and drank until about 4am the next morning, according to defence papers filed.
Mr Yaw then offered to drive the other two home. But at a bend along West Coast Road, his Honda Civic careered off the road, collided into a barrier on the left and crashed into the canal.
Mr Loo suffered serious head injuries and spent around two weeks in hospital after being pulled unconscious from the car. The accident left him blind in the right eye.
Police arrested Mr Yaw for suspected drink driving.
Mr Loo, through his lawyer Deepak Natverlal, is alleging that Mr Yaw was negligent, which led to the accident and his injuries.
Among other things, he claims Mr Yaw drove at an excessive speed, failed to keep a proper lookout and lost control of the car, which led to it skidding and crashing.
He is seeking compensation for medical expenses, loss of earning capacity and future transport expenses, among other things.
It is believed the claims may add up to about $500,000.
Among other things, Mr Loo points out that before he got into the car, he had asked Mr Yaw if he was fine and could drive.
But the company that insured Mr Yaw's vehicle, Allianz Insurance, is contesting the claims. It points out that Mr Loo knew that Mr Yaw had been drinking for more than eight hours and there were no reasonable grounds to believe that he was sober.
Its lawyer Niru Pillai, in defence papers filed, highlighted Mr Loo's claim to have seen Mr Yaw emerge from the nightclub at about 4.10am embroiled in a quarrel with an unknown person, which included shouting.
He argued that this should have alerted Mr Loo to the fact that Mr Yaw was in a drunken state, and that he placed himself at risk by entering the car.
Allianz Insurers added in the defence papers that Mr Loo should have known better than to get into a car with a driver who was in a drunken state, and he was in a position to ascertain this at the time.
It claims Mr Loo caused or contributed to his injuries through his own negligence.
Source: Straits Times
