Court awards €87,000 in damages after friend wrecked man's 'dream car'

The plaintiff suffered PTSD as a result of the accident, the court was told.

The plaintiff's friend wedged the car under a trailer
The plaintiff's friend wedged the car under a trailer

A court has awarded damages to a man who suffered post traumatic stress disorder after his friend crashed his €36,000 “dream car.”

The plaintiff had bought the Toyota Supra in 2016 after working two jobs and saving for many years. Shortly after buying it, he had a “minor accident” which took 7 months to repair. But not two months after being reunited with his Supra, the man had let his friend, the defendant, get behind the wheel to try it out.

The defendant had crashed the car, which ended up wedged under a trailer, and suffered a gash to his head.

Although not physically injured, it was the plaintiff, the owner of the car, who ended up worse off. A court-appointed psychiatrist noted that the man had suffered mental disturbances and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as he was tormented by the fact that he would probably never get to buy another car of that value, and cars were his hobby. He had put on a lot of weight after the accident and this, together with the fact that the defendant had summoned his ex-girlfriend to testify against him meant he needed constant psychological monitoring.

His personality had changed and his motivation had suffered, said the psychiatrist. The man had started to give up on everything and was now fearful whilst driving. Diagnosed with PTSD, he was assessed as having a 20% permanent disability. He had also incurred over €3,500 in medical costs

On his part, the defendant claimed the first accident had been a write off but the plaintiff had wanted to keep the car due to its registration. He had rebuilt it with a mix of parts from the UK and Japan and that this was a safety concern, as were other modifications.

He said the vehicle had been so powerful that it had taken him by surprise and he had ended up under the trailer and later in hospital with a gash on his head. The car was defective he said and had “nearly killed him.”

He also stated that the plaintiff had already been depressed over a failed relationship before the incident had occurred. He claimed that the plaintiff had egged him on to try out the car.

A court-appointed expert said the cost of repairing the vehicle would exceed €26000. He found that the tyres were in good condition, contradicting the defendant’s assertion that the plaintiff had been trying to burnout the tyres before the accident.

The court ruled that the expert’s report brought to naught all the arguments made by the defendant, in which he claimed the car was not roadworthy.

It concluded that defendant was “negligent, careless and irresponsible,” and solely to blame for the accident.

After taking into account various factors, damages for the loss of the vehicle were calculated at €24,600. Loss of future earnings, in view of his 20% disability were calculated at €59,011.12 after factoring in a 20% reduction because of lump sum payment.

The total amount of damages awarded was €87,174.97, of which €26,400 were payable to the man’s parents, who were also plaintiffs.

Lawyers Keith Borg and Graziella Cricchiola appeared for the plaintiffs.