Summary:
This case highlights the severe legal and financial implications of operating a vehicle with an expired licence on Victorian roads. Carbone Lawyers has acted for a 30-year-old international student on a working visa who suffered life-altering injuries in a hit-and-run collision. With an expired driver’s licence, she forfeited a claim for weekly income support; however, she was still able to pursue a massive lump-sum settlement.
Key Points:
- Statutory Income Penalty: Driving with an expired licence voids a motorist’s right to receive immediate no-fault weekly loss-of-earnings benefits following a severe accident.
- Preservation of Common Law Rights: Despite the breach of the licensing agreement, injured road users retain their full legal rights to pursue a common-law lump-sum claim if the other party was negligent.
- Uncontestable Accident Legitimacy: Although the offending driver fled the scene, immediate emergency ambulance transport and extensive hospitalisation provided indisputable evidence of the crash mechanics.
Case Details:
This case serves as a stark warning for any motorist who neglects to renew their driving credentials. A 30-year-old international student was living in Melbourne, balancing her studies with multiple casual jobs, including pickpacking. After completing a shift, she hopped onto her registered motorcycle to make her usual commute home; however, her driver’s licence had recently expired.
An oncoming vehicle suddenly crossed into the wrong lane, colliding head-on with her motorcycle at high speed. The impact was violent, throwing her from the bike and shattering her lower skeleton. Rather than stopping to render aid, the offending driver sped away, rendering the incident a hit-and-run. Emergency services rushed to the scene, and she was transported via ambulance to a trauma hospital, where surgeons worked to save her legs, ultimately inserting an extensive network of metal plates extending from her hips down to her feet on both sides.
When a motorist is severely injured in Victoria, the standard recourse is to turn to the state’s transport accident scheme for immediate financial and medical survival. However, because she was driving on an expired license, the law strictly prohibited the insurer from funding her weekly loss-of-earnings payments.
This did not stop Carbone Lawyers from launching a direct common law damages claim based entirely on the missing driver’s severe negligence.
Outcome:
Because the physical evidence of her catastrophic injuries was undeniable and the liability lay entirely with the driver who crossed into oncoming traffic, the transport accident authority was forced to acknowledge the immense gravity of the claim. A successful common law settlement was negotiated out of court, resulting in a massive lump-sum payout in the high hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Disclaimer: The details provided in this article are a representation of the facts of the case; the identity of the parties and some details have been deliberately obscured, and the settlement figure is categorised broadly to protect client privacy.