WORLDWIDE TAXI FOCUS from Ireland
IRISH TAXI DRIVER ‘MADE A CAREER’ OF PERSONAL INJURY CLAIMS
A taxi driver who had obtained tens of thousands in damages from previous accidents was making “quite a career” out of personal injury claims, a judge said on Thursday 17 November. Judge James O’Donohue, throwing out Ravinder Pal Singh’s fifth claim, said he had, in a new €60,000 damages claim, sworn an untruthful affidavit. Barrister Conor Kearney, counsel for motorist Sean Lennon and his AXA Commercial insurer, told the Circuit Civil Court that Mr Singh had revealed settlements totalling €68,651 in three previous claims but had failed to reveal a fourth claim for a crash in October 2016. Cross-examined about the amount of damages he received for the fourth undisclosed claim Mr Singh, 39, from Lucan, Co Dublin, said he did not remember how much he had received but thought it was “about €11,000 or €12,000″. Mr Singh told the court he had been injured when Mr Lennon’s van had rear-ended him on the M50. He had been off work for just over a week and said his back and neck injuries had cleared up after 18 months. Mr Kearney said he had sworn an affidavit verifying the truth of his replies to particulars in the case but had failed to disclose the fourth crash and that he’d told doctors his injuries had cleared up in six months.
Mr Singh said that he wasn’t aware of signing the affidavit. Judge O’Donohue was told that liability had been conceded in the case and the court was being asked only to assess any damages due to Mr Singh. Dismissing his claim and directing that he pay the legal costs of Mr Lennon and his insurers, the Judge said he had sworn an affidavit which was untruthful and he had to accept the consequences of that. The judge said Mr Singh had obtained quite a lot of compensation over the years and during the hearing told him he had not been honest in replies to particulars to a doctor about his previous history. “The court is sceptical of this individual who seems to be making quite a career out of personal injury accidents and has received a considerable amount of compensation,” Judge O’Donohue said.
PHTM DECEMBER 2022
THOUSANDS OF IRISH CABBIES TO BENEFIT FROM MAJOR RULE U-TURN
Thousands of taxis will not be forced off the road next year following the NTA’s decision to lift the ten-year rule. Some 3,750 taxis were at risk of being forced out of the industry next year because their cars were set to pass the ten-year- old limit of use. This is despite these taxis being fully road fit and Ireland suffering a severe shortage of taxis as the industry recovers from the pandemic. A global shortage of cars due to supply issues has seen the cost of new and used cars skyrocket which would have resulted in many drivers being forced to leave the industry because they couldn’t afford to replace their ten-year-old motor. Earlier this year, the Irish Sun revealed that a State grant to help cabbies go electric was critically underused because taxi drivers could not buy an EV due to global shortages. Over the weekend, the NTA issued a note to the industry that the ten-year rule will be eased to ensure that no taxi will be required to exit the cab fleet due to its age until at least 2025. The NTA has given an extension period of between three and five years to cabbies to keep them on the road. This means that a car that was due to go off the road in 2020 but benefited from the Covid extension will now be able to operate until 2025. Cars due to exit the industry in 2022 and 2023 will be allowed to stay on the road until 2026. This will give taxi drivers more time to earn in their current car while they plan to upgrade their car to an EV or buy a new petrol or diesel motor. Sinn Fein’s transport spokesperson, Darren O’Rourke, said: “This is a welcome decision meaning thousands of drivers and vehicles are not forced off the road. “It’s incredible the Government and the NTA resisted this move for so long. That, in itself, points to wider problems with the Taxi Advisory Committee and how the taxi industry is governed here. It’s an area in much need of reform.”
Cabbie Laurence Kelly
urged the NTA to show some leniency
83
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88
