Partner Craig Evans and Associate Thomas Byrne have successfully defended a multi-million pound claim on behalf of a prominent Spanish motor insurance company. The case, involving an estimated £5.3 million in damages, stemmed from an incident in Spain where two Lithuanian individuals on a moped alleged a vehicle defect in a rented moped led to a severe accident. The claim was intimated in England and Wales and Spanish law applied by virtue of Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No. 864/2007 ("Rome II").
In October 2022, two Lithuanian individuals, both of whom were habitually resident in England, went on holiday to Spain. A friend of theirs rented a moped for a few days, which was insured by Clyde & Co's client. Neither claimant were listed on the rental agreement and the hire company had no knowledge that the vehicle would have been driven by anybody other than the renter.
The vehicle in question, which was a three-wheeled moped, was serviced and extensively checked by the hire company prior to it being rented to the claimants' friend. The vehicle was relatively new, had a full service history and no previous issues in relation to steering or braking.
Several hours after the vehicle had been rented, the first claimant, when driving the moped, veered off a single-lane highway while attempting to navigate a bend, causing a significant crash into a verge by the side of the highway. As a result, both claimants suffered severe and life-changing orthopaedic injuries, with the driver being paralysed from the waist-down and the pillion passenger suffering severe spinal injuries and psychiatric trauma. A forensic examination by local police determined that the cause of the accident was an inexperienced driver and excessive speed, estimating the speed of the claimants at between 75 and 90 km/h, when the maximum permitted speed on the road was 60 km/h.
Clyde & Co's thorough investigation of the matter found several articles published at the time of the accident with reports stating outright that the accident was caused by the driver swerving to avoid debris in the road.
The claimants argued that a fault in the moped caused them to veer off the road and that they were travelling at an appropriate speed. The evidence we uncovered suggested the opposite: there was no fault or defective, mechanical or otherwise, with the moped in question and witness evidence supported the view that the claimants were travelling at a significant speed and were driving erratically, as a result of the driver's inexperience and for swerving to avoid debris in the road which the claimants failed to anticipate and/or react to due to the excessive speed.
Clyde & Co responded to the claim with a robust denial of liability, setting out that there was no evidence of a defect in the vehicle under Spanish law, that the claimants were travelling at a speed grossly in excess of the posted speed limit and much too quickly for the road and that the cause of the accident was the negligent driving of the first claimant.
Through Clyde & Co's thorough and meticulous investigation along with the front-loaded and robust denial of liability, both claims were discontinued pre-litigation, resulting in significant multi-million pound savings for our client.
This outcome not only absolves our client of liability but also underscores the expertise and dedication of Clyde & Co's bespoke and dedicated International and Travel Claims team in defending complex, high-stakes claims. Working closely in tandem with lawyers in our Madrid team, we can present our insurer clients based overseas with a fully tailored service to meet their needs. We are proud to have secured this favourable result, reinforcing our commitment to delivering exceptional legal representation for our clients.
For further information, please contact Craig Evans.
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