DAMAGES CLAIM IN WELLINGTON

Southland Times, Issue 23677, 28 November 1938, Page 6

DAMAGES CLAIM IN WELLINGTON

AWARDING OF £7OOO HIGHEST AMOUNT IN N.Z. FOR PERSONAL INJURIES The trial of the action for £7OOO damages brought against the Wellington City Corporation and the Westport Coal Company Ltd. by Marcia Donnellan, aged 17, whose left leg was amputated following a collision between a tram and a lorry in Wakefield street on June 16, will, in many respects, be regarded as historic, says The Evening Post, Wellington. The lorry driver was completely absolved from blame by the jury, and the awarding of the full amount against the corporation, which has to pay the costs of both the plaintiff and file coal company, has set ft a new high level in damages for personal injuries in New Zealand. The costs against the corporation will be between £7OO and £BOO.

Those who read the reports of accident cases in England have observed that Judges in English Courts have been awarding much higher damages than juries have been awarding in New Zealand. The previous highest amount awarded to any person in the Dominion was £6201 in April 1937 to Mrs S. A. Petherick, against Waters and the N.I.M.U. Insurance Company. In that case liability was admitted, and the action was heard by consent without a jury. The claim was for £11,547. The woman’s husband, on a claim for £3603 12/-, was awarded £433 12/-. Curiously enough, Mr O. C. Mazengarb (counsel for Miss Donnellan) and Mr W. E. Leicester (for the Westport Coal Company) were also engaged in Petherick’s case, but the roles were then reversed, Mr Leicester appearing for the plaintiff. This latest case was also notable for the installation, by way of experiment, of the dictaphone-telecord system of recording evidence. If the system were adopted it would be of particular help in the recording of the Judge’s summing-up. Frequently in the past, on applications for a new trial on the ground of misdirection of the jury, disputes have arisen in the Court of Appeal as to how the Judge actually did direct the jury. The recording system would overcome that difficulty, and, if necessary, the cylinders could be played back to show inflection and emphasis used by a speaker. The use of the microphone before the witness box and the amplifier behind the jurymen was also of great assistance. The amplifier was installed on the second day of the hearing, and after that no witness, however gentle in voice, was asked to raise his tone. No suggestion of mechanical amplification was given, but the voice was clearly heard by the jury. The microphone and amplifier were also used by the Chief Justice (Sir Michael Myers) in his summing-up.