CLAIM FOR £2600

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23969, 20 May 1941, Page 9

CLAIM FOR £2600

INJURY TO HAND ACTION AGAINST EMPLOYER OVERTURNING OF TRUCK Claims for £2500 general and £ll9 lis fid special damages were brought iti the Supreme Court yesterday by Lionel Campbell Davies, of Whangarei. foreman driver, against his employers. Dave Hill and Sons. Limited, of Whangarei. carriers. Davies claimed that injuries he suffered to his right arm and hand in a motor accident were due to the negligence of Fred Hill, a director of the company. The case was heard by Mr. Justice Pair and a jury. Mr. Trimmer and Mr. McCarthy appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr. North and Mr. L. A. Johnson for the defendants. The accident happened on March 22. 1910, on a bush road at Kauri, about seven miles out of Whangarei. Hill was driving a truck with Davies on the running board, to open and shut gates, when the truck overturned, and Davies' right wrist and hand were crushed. Plaintiff claimed that the accident had incapacitated him totally for 31 weeks, and partially for the rest of bis life, and was due to Hill's negligent driving. The defence denied any negligence, and said that the plaintiff had been paid £4 a week workers' compensation during his incapacity, and had suffered no loss of wages since. Alternatively the defendants claimed that the accident was due to the plaintiff's own negligence or contributory negligence, that the occurrance was an inevitable accident, that the plaintiff voluntarily accepted the risks of the road, and that he was engaged in a joint plan with Hill. Mr. Trimmer said that Davies would never do manual work again and, though the defendant had re-employed him at his previous wage, there could be no guarantee that such an arrangement would continue. In cross-examination, plaintiff denied that he had ever been appointed manager of the firm. He was receiving £7 a week from the firm at the time the writ for the claim was issued. The hearing will be continued to-day.