Court of Appeal confirms MIB liability for uninsured car accidents on private land
In a recent ruling, the Court of Appeal has verified a High Court decision to extend legal compensation rights to people injured in a road accident or car accident on privately owned land.
Case study
The claimant, whose injuries were so severe that he was left tetraplegic, was pursued on foot across the private land by the landowner who was driving a 4x4 vehicle. The driver and vehicle were not insured so the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) acted as the defendant.
In 2018 the claimant was awarded a reported €1 million in damages. However, the MIB appeared appealed the ruling and took the case to the Court of Appeal.
The MIB maintained that it was not liable for the actions of the driver because the law only requires mandatory insurance to cover accidents occurring either on the road or in a public place.
Road accident solicitors successfully challenged the MIB's defence by citing an EU directive that requires mandatory insurance on public and private land.
The amount of compensation being paid by the MIB has not been disclosed.
The MIB was set up to ensure that people injured by uninsured or untraceable drivers were still able to claim compensation. However, the MIB is often able to ‘wriggle out of’ paying compensation.
Claimants who have been injured as a result of the actions of an uninsured or untraceable driver will still need to follow a specific process in order to make a claim via the MIB.
For example, if the claimant did not cooperate fully with the police then the MIB can refuse to pay compensation.
Nevertheless, a result of the ruling the MIB's wriggle room will be reduced and if will face an increase in the number of claims.
If you’ve been injured in the last three years in a road accident that was not your fault you may be able to claim financial compensation.
Find out more:
Make a road accident compensation claim.
Claim compensation through the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB)
Author:
Helen Goddard, Legal researcher
About the author
Helen is an award-winning legal researcher and author. She is an experienced court litigation report proofreader and has written extensively on legal matters.
