PILLION RIDER INJURED

Taranaki Daily News, 22 August 1931, Page 13

PILLION RIDER INJURED

CYCLE AND CAR COLLIDE CLAIM FOR OVER £lOOO DAMAGES.. MIDNIGHT ACCIDENT AT KAPONGA Injuries to his-right knee when, as a pillion rider, he was involved-in a motor accident at Kaponga, were the grounds upon, which Viliam Mattle'r began a claim before. Mr. Justice Blair at New Plymouth yesterday. He asked that he should be awarded £92 18s. 6d. special damages and £lOOO general damages against Hector Angus Ross, who drove the colliding car. The court sat on the ease. last night and will conclude the hearing this morning. The-ease is being heard before the 1 following jury: Messrs. G. C. Cathie (foreman), R. H. Lloyd, F. H. Mack, Joseph Henry, H. W. Oliver, N. C. Pepperell J L. J. Lealand, A. R. Reynolds, H. V. Leighton, A. R. Scott, J. B. Boniface and WiiTiam Cormack. Mr. A. K.. North is appearingin support of the claim and Mr. [P. D'Dea against. It- was ’alleged,. said Mr. North, that the accident was caused by the negligence 1 of Ross. Mattler-was a passenger on the back of .a motor-cycle driven by a man named Ham; There was a very : real difference in law between the pas‘senger and driver of a vehicle. The ' ! passenger was not affected by the contributory negligence of the/driver in relation to a claim for damages. The accident occurred on March 21, a week' before Easter. - Ham and Mattier had been in Hawera and were proceeding.home to Kaponga after the pictures. It was about midnight.' ' .

The accident occurred in Kappnga, opposite the maternity hospital. Ham was driving the cycle and"Mattler was riding behind. About three miles away from Kaponga the lights failed.: It was a bright night and there was no traffic about. They continued towards their home, Ham taking the utmost care. When they arrived opposite the hospital, in the lighted area, they had passed about 80 yards beyond the street light when the cycle was struck down by Ross’ car coming from the opposite direction. Mattier had his leg hurt and was taken to the Hawera hospital.

RIDING VERY SLOWLY.

' Before the accident Ham was driving at between 10 and 12 miles an hour. He/ dropped down into« second gear, rotfe strictly on the correct side of the road, and took no risks. Suddenly the ear swerved: right over to its wrong side and collided with, the cycle. Mattlcr’s right leg was' injured and he would be a cripple for life. Though tlie mo.tor-cycle had no lights the motorist was just as much required to take every care, as he would were there a pedestrian on the road—he must keep a look-out for .anyone lying-on the road, say, .a drunk man. ,

The fact that the motor-cyclist fell .over at the spot of the impact showed

that the machine, had had no speed on when the collision took place. It fell over off the bitumen surface, indicating that it was well over on its correct side. A motorist named Plant came along just as the accident occurred. It might be that Ross had 'been dazzled by the lights, but that was no excuse for his running on to his wrong side of the ■road. The defence had pleaded the approaching motor-cycle was on its incorrect side, without lights, and that Ross was forced by the negligence of Hamand Mattier to swerve from his correct side to try to avoid an apparently inevitable head-on collision. It was pleaded, too, that at the same time .the motor-cycle swerved back to its correct side and the two vehicles met. This construction of the affair was denied and counsel reminded the jury that the particular onus of proving the cycle was on its incorrect side lay on Ross. '

After Mattier had seated himself on a table in front of the jury and taken the iron and leather support from his right leg, Dr. W. M. Thomson demonstrated the disabilities attendant upon a “flayled” knee. There was a considable limitation of movement, he said; ■at least two-thirds of full flexion. There was very little rotational movement left. These injuries were caused by a tearing of the ligaments. The knee retained only 25 per cent, of its original ability to move.

The leg might improve a little with the “cage”’ on the knee, but only by a very small percentage.. He would need three months electrical treatment as a minimum, and six months might be necessary. Even then, it was possible he might not be able to dispense with the cage.

TRANSFER OF TENDONS.

■ To Mr. O’Dea: It was possible an improvement might be effected by an operation .to transfer tendons. He knew of two or three surgeons in New Zealand who could undertake that. With the massaging mentioned the percentage of usefulness might be increased to 49 per cent. The medical authorities in the Hawera hospital gave the leg ten weeks’ treatment. The doctor could not say why it was not carried on longer. Leslie Gordon Ham, farm labourer, Kaponga, substantiated Mr. -North’s outline of the circumstances of the accident. To Mr,. 1 O’Dea he admitted lie” was fined .Cl for negligent riding as an outcome of the accident. On a previous occasion he was ordered to pay Ife. costs | in connection with an accident.. He did not think a charge was laid against Ross. ’

After coming away from tire pictures ithey stayed-' in'-Hawera ’tor some time. He could not say.’fphy it' was about two. hours later before they reached Kaponga, except that they were travelling very slowly. It was untrue that the

lights were out from Hawera. They had not had any drink. Ross and he agreed not to proceed against one another. He was sure his cycle had a head lamp and horn when it was examined a week ago. He was not using it at present. A pillion footrest was not missing at the time of the accident. There was very little difference between the condition of the machine a week ago, when inspected, and at the time of the accident, except that the handlebars were straightened. One of the exhaust pipes was “home-made” .of tin. Since March 21 he had not used the cycle at night. It was.no use to-him, He had not tried to sell the machine, hut had been putting in his spare time fixing it up; he intended to register it as soon.ae possible.

Mr, North.- As a matter of fact,, you have been too hard up to pay for regisc tration?—Yes.

Witness said a loose pillion footrest had come off some time after the accident. Though Ross and he had agreed not to proceed against, one another they had not agreed to tell the constable a wrong or incomplete story,

CYCLISTS ON RIGHT SIDE. Leslie Plant, a service-car driver, said he stopped to let down a passenger when he noticed two men lying on the left side of the road. There had been nothing to indicate to him that the cyclists had been on their wrong side. To Mr. O’Dea: He considered he was a perfectly impartial witness. He denied that it was he who suggested to Ross and Ham that they should settle the matter between them. Mattier, the plaintiff, said he remembered Ham dropping a gear jus.t before tho impact. He was claiming £5O for wages; he had been earning £2 6s. and “fonnd” on a farm; he had two days a week on relief Work. He claimed £32 , Ss. for hospital treatment, 10s. Gd. for : the doctor and £lO out-of-pocket ex- ■ peases. When the accident occurred he I | had had £5 in notes and silver in his [ trouser pocket. The pocket was tom

• completely out and the money scattered lon the road. He did not know what bei came of that money. All he got back ' was Is. 9d. He had considerable pain with his leg. He could not walk without the metal and leather support. He had no relatives in New Zealand. He was baching with friends at Kaponga. After leaving the. pictures in Hawera Ham and he had visited Die boxing school before setting out for Kaponga. >

To. Mr. O’Dea: He was 22 years of age. The lights were running off the generator so that the cycle could not be run at too great a speed without “blowing'’ the bulb. Witness had not stopped to consider the danger of going on without a light. He himself had owned a motor-cycle in the United States, whence he had come to New Zealand. He had never previously been in any trouble in ■ connection with a motor accident. He had been told by a doctor that an operation was probably the only thing that would put his leg right. Constable John O’Donohue, Kaponga, who went to the scene of the accident, said Ross made no allegation to him that the cyclists were on their wrong (side. He said that when he. clime rbujid ’ ■the’ bend he Thought 1 he saw two.' 'pgd«s-\l trfahs: The‘next'thing' he khewthat the 'hand'le'bar' of the ' cycle' Sthiclt' his’ car. The ear was three feet on 1 i t's-

wrong side of the road. This closed the case for. the plain till. Called by Mr. O’Dea, John Max-well

Clarke, consulting surgeon, said he bad examined Mattier that day. The disability to the knee mainly consisted of abnormal mobility. The normal flexion was limited by half. Considering the injury the leg must have had, the result Was good. The only deformity was due to a wasting of the muscles." Mattier was given a sense of insecurity due to wabbling. The pain suffered was not very severe. There was about a 30 per cent loss of function in ths knee joint. With treatment there would be a slight improvement, but not much. He had about a 30 per cent, chance of being able to -discard the splint-support in time; he might have to avear., it occasionally. He was sure he would .not recover. normal use, though he should get a fair measure of use back.. . "

To Mr. North: He. th ought treatment should'continue for another six months.