The Supreme Court has sided with the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) regarding the amount payable in the case of an international road accident caused by an uninsured driver.
In 2011, UK citizen Tiffany Moreno was hit by an uninsured car while holidaying in Greece and suffered severe injuries to her legs, requiring extensive treatment. The driver of the car was at fault in the accident, and Moreno claimed compensation from the MIB. MIB accepted liability, but argued the amount payable to Moreno should reflect the laws of Greece instead of the UK, a lower figure.
The High Court chose to uphold her claim and leapfrog the issue to the Supreme Court, which unanimously decided to side with the MIB.
“The outcome of this case is that the law for damages will now be applied consistently to uninsured and insured cases,” said Ashton West OBE, Chief Executive at MIB.
“Nothing changes the fact that Ms Moreno has been the unfortunate victim of a serious accident with an uninsured driver abroad. There is no doubt that she is entitled to damages for her injuries, however, the principle is about using the right law to decide how much to pay Ms Moreno.”
The MIB will now act on behalf of the Greek Guarantee Fund, the Greek equivalent of the MIB, to settle the claim. The system is designed so that in the case of an accident abroad an individual doesn’t have to deal with foreign organisations.
West added a number of MIB claims were waiting on the outcome of this case, and can now be settled.
