Guilty as charged

am too drained to go into it tonight and am a few drinks down, but will tell all tomorrow after some sleep...

thank you all for all you support - it means a lot.

And now the civil claim. Screw him to the wall.

great

Ask your advisor but from my long gone lawyering days, criminal convictions in such cases mean that the insurer cannot deny liability so you should get paid out without a civil action being needed?

you know what, i don't hate him. he made a mistake. a very bad mistake, but a very human mistake. he will now lose his job and has a wife and two kids.

ahh thats so good to hear! nice one man, congrats

you know what, i don't hate him. he made a mistake. a very bad mistake, but a very human mistake. he will now lose his job and has a wife and two kids.

Jem, congratulations on the case result and i hope you are well on the path to recovery and can move on with your life. As for the driver, I hope he learns from this and I hope the case raises awareness amongst drivers. Jase

Great result. Well done jemjah.

great news

that is really good news, i hope this makes a difference for future cases

out of interest - what did the judge find amounted to dangerous driving on the facts of your case?

From the looks of the original thread, it was charged as careless driving, not dangerous driving. For careless driving the prosecution only need to prove that the standard of driving fell below what would be expected of a careful and competent driver, whereas for dangerous driving they must prove that the standard fell far below that level.

you know what, i don't hate him. he made a mistake. a very bad mistake, but a very human mistake. he will now lose his job and has a wife and two kids.

While it is sad that a small mistake can cause him to lose his livelihood and his family will suffer, the consequences of his mistake are large, as you have personally suffered. With great power comes great responsibility and unfortunately this is one of few lorry drivers who has realised this. Most others will continue about their daily job ignorant of the great power they hold in their hands. It is not just delivering goods, or cement, or transporting vehicles, they are at the wheel of a killing machine. A cyclist, or a pedestrian, or even someone driving a small car has little chance of survival if the lorry drivers do make a mistake. These are all things that we've said over and over on this forum but the general public, and more importantly, the lorry drivers need to be aware of this.

A small mistake by a pilot can mean 500+ dead, pilots get the gravity of their day job drilled into their heads at the beginning, during training. Every time you fly there are the most rigorous of checks to be completed, everything has to be so precise or you get a major bollocking. A 747 has to have 5 nautical miles of empty space around it or it is forced to divert to a new heading (evasive action). The skies in every direction could be clear but the pilot will change course because of an airspace infringement 5 miles away.

Maximum takeoff weight for a 747 is ~440 tonnes.
Maximum weight for a semi-trailer lorry in the UK is 44 tonnes.

By comparison a lorry should have 0.5 nautical miles of empty space around it at all times.

Criminal conviction for careless driving has been proved to criminal standard of proof -- the DJ was satisfied so that he/she was sure.

Civil liability, requiring only proof on the balance of probabilities, a lower standard, is impossible for him to avoid now. Make sure you've got a lawyer, or use the CTC ones. I don't know anyone who'd turn down a civil claim on a conditional fee arrangement (no win no fee) basis where there's ALREADY been a criminal conviction.

I'd love to hear how you felt about cross-examination!

Above all, glad it went well and justice was done.

I'm very glad to hear this, jemjah.

Great news jemjah!

That's awesome news Jemjah. Long overdue.

Very good news jemjah!

Well done Jem for the way you have handled this. It must be such a relief. When you feel up to it it would be interesting to hear more about the court case.

Criminal conviction for careless driving has been proved to criminal standard of proof -- the DJ was satisfied so that he/she was sure.

Civil liability, requiring only proof on the balance of probabilities, a lower standard, is impossible for him to avoid now. Make sure you've got a lawyer, or use the CTC ones. I don't know anyone who'd turn down a civil claim on a conditional fee arrangement (no win no fee) basis where there's ALREADY been a criminal conviction.

I'd love to hear how you felt about cross-examination!

Above all, glad it went well and justice was done.

are you a criminal lawyer?

Ace news. Well done for staying strong!

Awesome

though lamentable the incident occurred

Well, it sounds like the right result.

you know what, i don't hate him. he made a mistake. a very bad mistake, but a very human mistake. he will now lose his job and has a wife and two kids.

You rock, mate, you really do. Such a decent response. I hope you can put this behind you and try not to have too much victim guilt over this. Don't forget that he chose to drive carelessly. No one made him do it.

Well done Jem for the way you have handled this. It must be such a relief. When you feel up to it it would be interesting to hear more about the court case.

+1

Good news Jemjah (altough a 12-month ban seems very low to me, let alone 3 points!).

this is awesome news,

don't feel bad about him having a family, its not your concern, its his,
things could have been at lot worse. thankfully it wasn't