The appellant suffered injuries as a result of a motor accident and failed to establish the identity of the vehicle or driver. The main issue was whether the appellant should have pursued the vehicle in an attempt to read and remember its number-plate.
The primary judge found that by failing to attempt to obtain the number-plate details immediately after the accident, the appellant failed to engage in a “proper inquiry and search”. The respondent contended that “proper inquiry and search” required the appellant to return to the incident site on a subsequent evening to look for the vehicle or look for the unidentified vehicle in the local road network. However, the appellant successfully contended that “proper inquiry and search” did not require him to pursue the vehicle immediately after the incident in circumstances where he did not know he was injured.
Mark Eade (with Cate Heyworth-Smith KC) appeared for the appellant, instructed by Travis Schultz & Partners.
The judgment is published here.
