A lorry driver who drove into a sozzled reveller is having a personal injury claim brought against him on the grounds that the trucker should have realised that he was drunk. South Croydon reveller Carl Heaven has filed a claim for an “unlimited” amount of money in damages from Brian Williams and Containerlift Services after suffering multiple broken bones. This was after he was hit by the back of the 44 tonne lorry being driven by Mr. Heaven.
Mr. Williams, a plumber is claiming that he was hindered from returning to work for over seven months as a result of the pain from his injuries. Mr. Heaven’s team of lawyers argue that Mr. Williams should have realised “given the time of night and their appearance”, the plumber and his friend “were likely to be drunk and likely to behave unpredictably”.
Mr. Heaven’s solicitors contend that he should have “stopped completely or reduced his speed to a point where he was almost stationary”, so he could observe the pair of revellers using his wing mirrors. The legal team also added that the trucker should have realised the probability that his rear wheels could have collided with Mr Heaven.
At the time of the accident, Mr. Heaven, a 32-year-old plumber and his friend were both drunk on the High Street in Abingdon, Oxon at about 2.45am on June 20, 2007.
An employee at the Essex-based Containerlift Services, Mr. Williams was at the time of the accident taking a left turn from Bridge Street into the High Street. According to the police statement, this is when he says he saw the revellers “larking around” in the middle of the road.
After “waving” at Mr. Williams, a resident of the Isle of Wight, the revellers moved on to the kerb on the left side of the road, as the trucker drove past them. Mr. Heaven then claims that the back wheels of the lorry caught him and dragged him “a significant distance” along the road, leaving him with injuries including a broken left arm in three places, a broken right arm and right leg.
Having filed his personal injury claim on June 18 this year, Mr. Heaven could win damages worth thousands of pounds.
A date for the case to be heard has not yet been set.
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