UNUSUAL CASE

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 92, 9 December 1931, Page 6

UNUSUAL CASE

I DAMAGES AWARDED MAN STRUCK BY POSTS OVERHANGING FROM LORRY. ACCIDENT ON TAUPO ROAD. An accident case with some unusual 'features was decided in the Rotorua Magistrate's Court yesterday, when Arthur Sullivan, a labourer of Murupara, proceeded against Riri Potaka, of Rotorua, post contractor, and his wife, Rangi Potaka, possessed of separate estate, claiming £118 13s as general and special damages, caused through injuries which the plaintiff claimed were caused by the negligence of defendants' agents or servants. The case arose out of an accident which occurred at the 18-mile peg on the Taupo Road on May 22. Two Public Works Department employees, in camp at the peg, were in the act of purchasing papers from a Hindoo's van which was pulled up on the side of the road, when they suddenly disappeared from view, as a lorry which had been approaching, passed the van. , Both men were picked up uncon- j scious, the plaintiff, Sullivan, with j three ribs broken, and his companion j with head injuries. It was claimed oy the plaintiff that the accident was caused through his being struek by posts which were protruding from the lorry as it passed, and that the negligence of the driver of the lorry brought about his injuries. It was admitted by the defence- that the lorry was driven by a 16-year-old Maori girl, Mabel Potftka, a daughter of the defendants. After hearing lengthy evidence and legal argument, the magistrate (Mr. S. L. Paterson, S.M.) found that on the facts, defendants' agents had been negligent either in handling the car or the method of loading, and gave judgment for plaintiff for a total amount of £98 18s, general and special damages. Mr. E. Roe appeared for plaintiff and M. H. Hampson for defendants. Did Not Remember. Arthur Sullivan, a P.W.D. employee, stated that on May 22 he had been in camp near the 18-mile peg on the Taupo Road. About 5 10 p.m a Hindoo's van had drawn up opposite the camp and together with s man named Reed, witness had gonc across to buy some newspapers. The van was drawn up on its eorrect side of the road, facing Taupo. The metal at this point was about 16 feet wide and at this partieular place, r vehicle could pull off the road in safety. Witness was leaning against the side of the van with one foot on the running board, talking to one of thc men in the cab, and Reed was stand ing beside him. It was then jus dusk, and the lights of the van weri turned on. Witness was just hand ing over twopence for a paper anci the driver was untying the bundle when he saw a lorry approachin? from the direction of Taupo. He no ticed that the lorry had its lights on but as he considered that he was quit safe, he did not continue to observt it, but passed some remark to on.of the men in the cab of the van He did not remember anything fur ther until he regained consciousnes some time later on a bed in his tent He felt no pain, and must have beei rendered instantly unconscious. Three Broken. Ribs. As a result of the accident he liac sutfered three fractured ribs and a tearing of the muscles of the chest which had caused him to be trouble: with outbreaks of boils, even at the present time. He had been incapacitated from May 21 until July 13 as a result of the accident. His wage; at the time had averaged £4 Ss t week. ^ross-examined, Sullivan said tha Reed and himself had been beside th( van from 5 to 10 minutes when the accident occurred. Mr. Hampson: How is it that you say in your statement to the polici that you did not see the lights o: the lorry? — What I meant to eonve? was that I did not see the lorry unti it was a short distance away. "Thought I was Safe." "I thought I was quite safe where I was, and that the lorry had plenty of room to pass," said Sullivan. did not consider that the lorry hac' any need to stop." Corroborative evidence was giver by Sullivan's companion, James Reed who said that he was also renderec unconscious by a blow on the head a: the lorry passed. In reply to Mr Hampson, this witness said that he had made no claim because he "wished to wait and see." Simply Disappeared. A passenger in the cab of the van Daniel Lloyd, P.W.D. officer, stated that after the accident, he had mea • sured the road and had found 16 feet of formed surface. The two men were standing at the side of the van talking, and as the lorry passed, they ■imply seemed to disappear. Wher they were picked up, they were lying beside the van in a heap and both were unconscious. As their injuries appeared to be serious, he sent the driver of the van after the lorry and shortly afterwards it returned whil lirst aid was being rendered to the men. The lorry was driven by a

Maori girl named Mabel Potaka who had with her another Maori girl about the same age and a Maori youth. Witness noticed that on the right-hand side of the lorry some of the posts were protruding. The extreme overhang would be 135 inches. The Maori boy said that when they stopped further down the road he had pushed some of the protruding posts back. Witness considered that Reed and Sullivan were perfectly safe in the position in which they were standing. In reply to Mr. Hampson, the witness said the Maori girls appeared to be surprised when told of the accident. Medical evidence was given by Dr. Brian Thompson, who stated that bullivan had been admitted to hospital with three fractjired ribs. In reply to Mr. Hampson, the doctor said that he did not think outbreaks of boils such as were mentioned by Sullivan, would follow broken ribs. Tidied up Load. William O'Connor, another P.W.D. olncer, said that he examined the lorry after its return to the scene of the accident. One of the girls had admitted that they had tidied up the load while they were away. .ueslie Taylor Clark said that he saw the lorry when it pulled up about a mile further down the road. When the driver of the van arrived, he asked the girl in the lorry whether she knew that she had killed a man further back on the road. The girl said she did not believe him and it toolc some time to convince her an accident had occurred. Witness walked round behind the lorry and saw the Maori boy pushing .back some posts which were protruding on the right-hand side. The overhang of some of these posts was two feet, witness considered. Henry Langguth, post contractor, of Rotorua, said that the only proper method of securing posts on a lorry without sides was by means of proper bush twitch chains. He did not consider that 50 posts would be properly secured by means of two ropes. Case for Defendants. This closed Mr. Roe's case, and after briefly indicating the lines of his defence, Mr. Hampson proceeded to call his evidence. Before doing so, however, he stated that the Maori girl who had been driving the lorry, MaDel Potaka, was at present indisposed and under doctor's orders, could uot appear in court. At a convenient juncture, the court accordingly adjourned and the evidence of the girl was taken at the house where she was residing. Mr. Hampson also put in evidence given by the youth Chadwick, which had been taken at Hastings. A 16-year-old girl, Annie Potaka, stated that she had been in the lorry on the night of the accident. with her sister Mabel and a boy named Chadwick. Her sister was driving the lorry and they were proceeding at a speed between 10 and 15 m.p.h ihe remembered seeing the Hindoo's van standing on the side of the road beside the 18-mile peg, and noticed „wo men standing beside the van talkng to the driver. Both men lookec round as they approached and one moved a step in towards the van. i hey passed the van, but felt no bump and had no knowledge that they had struck the men. They were carrying a load of 50 posts piled crosswise on the lorry and voped down. When they stopped .ater, they found that one of the posts were protruding about a foot on the right-hand side. Cross-examined by Mr. Roe, the girl said that when she first saw the '.wo men, they were both standing a -short distance from the side of the , van. One was about two yards away. but moved inwards towards the var and would be about two feet from the side when the lorry passed. The other man stood still about a yard from the van. Witness' sister slowed down as she passed the van and pulled partly off the road. Witness' recollection was that one of the men moved towards the van and that they were not standing right up against it. "Sonietimes." Asked whether the boy Chadwick who was with them, was a truthfu] boy, the witness said "sometimes." She did not know that Chadwick had said he had pushed back two protruding posts; he had told her thaf he had pushed back only one. Questioned further, the girl finally said that she remembered that one of the men had his foot on the running board of the van. The eounty traffic inspctor, Mr. D. M. Ford, said that he had been informed of the accident and had arrived on the scene about three hours later. He had examined wheel marks on the road and had observed that one wheel-track was off the road on the left-hand side oppposite the spot where the men had been struck. This clossd the evidence for defendants, and Mr. Hampson addressed his Worship upon the law and cases bearing upon the facts. The magistrate, however, stated that he could not ask counsel for plaintiff to submit legal argument. He had no doubt in his mind that the defendants had been negligent, in two respects — either in the handling of the lorry, or in combination with this, in the loading of the posts. Even if it could oe argued that it was negligent for plaintiff to stand beside the van, he had every reason to expect that defendants' driver had seen him and would use ordinary precautions to avoid him. . Judgment would be for plaintiff for £98 13s.