Woman wins £3,500 whiplash award after taxi nudged at less than 5mph

A MOTORIST has been ordered to pay £3,500 in compensation after nudging a taxi at a speed of less than five miles per hour.

Alana Baron, a lawyer, has been ordered to pay up despite the accident not leaving a mark on the other vehicle or "affecting the pursuer's life in any way".

Magistrate and charity runner Caroline Spencer, who was a passenger in the taxi, went to court to seek compensation after suffering whiplash in the low-speed accident.

Although she was able to return to work immediately and was back running two weeks later, a sheriff has now ruled that she should be paid £3,500.

The case has revived suggestions that a "compensation culture" now exists in Scotland.

Bill Aitken, Conservative justice spokesman, declined to comment on individual cases, but said: "There appears to be a growing thinking that when stuff happens, as it does, someone is responsible and someone else is entitled to a claim."

Cameron Fyfe, one of the country's leading litigation lawyers, said there had been a noticeable increase in compensation claims in recent years.

"The law hasn't changed, but people are more aware of their right to claim," he said.

"It's probably partly because there are more claims companies advertising on television. There is also a feeling that the system has become Americanised, with so many eye-catching stories coming across about compensation claims."

Mrs Spencer raised the claim at Edinburgh Sheriff Court after her private hire Mazda MPV was struck by Miss Baron's Volvo on 11 June, 2006.

The 44-year-old lay magistrate and her mother and sons were on their way to the finishing line of the Edinburgh marathon to watch her husband run. Their vehicle was about to make a turn when Miss Baron hit them from behind at a speed which could have been as low as two miles per hour.

Sheriff Nigel Morrison, QC, said: "The driver of the Mazda, Grahame Allan, 61, gave evidence for Miss Baron. He felt a slight nudge.

"There was no damage to his vehicle. He asked his passengers if they were OK and they said they were fine. He thought the speed was under 5mph and may have been 2mph.

"He said the noise of the collision was significant enough to hear but was not a thump. The collision was the fault of the defender.

"There was no damage to the Mazda. There was damage to the front of the number plate of the Volvo which was cracked around the nearside screw."

Alan Bathgate, a consultant automotive engineer, told the court that the crash happened at less than 5mph because neither bumper had been damaged.

The court was told that an accident at such a low speed would have the same effect on the passengers as going over a normal pothole in the road.

In a written judgment issued yesterday, Sheriff Morrison said:

"The pursuer sustained a whiplash injury to her neck in the accident. Over the next few days she felt stiffness in her neck and a tingling sensation down her left arm."

GOD, I'LL SEE YOU IN COURT
THE "compensation culture" has led to some truly bizarre court action.

A man from Pennsylvania attempted to sue God over his dismissal from USX Corporation after 30 years of service. According to the lawsuit, the Supreme Being failed to take "corrective action" against those who had wronged him.

In 2004, Timothy Dumouchel, of Wisconsin, sued a communications company, arguing: "I believe the reason I smoke and drink every day and my wife is overweight is because we watched the TV everyday for the last four years."

But seemingly frivolous lawsuits are not a uniquely American creation. A Russian woman who drank an estimated 5,000 litres of Coca-Cola successfully sued the company for making her ill. Natalya Kashuba, 27, the owner of an upmarket clothes shop, drank up to three litres of Coke every day for five years.

Two courts agreed that Coca-Cola had failed to warn of the health risks of drinking too much Coke and awarded Miss Kashuba £62.