MARSHALL V THE MOTOR INSURERS' BUREAU

[2015] EWHC 3421 (QB), Queen's Bench Division, Mr Justice Dingemans, 27 November 2015

Insurance (motor) - Accident occurring in France - Law applicable to the tort - Measure of damages - Whether claim could be brought against the Motor Insurers' Bureau where there was insurance in force - Rome II Regulation, articles 4 and 13 - Motor Vehicles (Compulsory Insurance) (Information Centre and Compensation Body) Regulations 2003, regulation 13

M was killed and P seriously injured in France, in a motor accident caused by the negligence of B, who fell asleep at the wheel. P was the insured driver of a Fiesta, with a trailer attached. A wheel had come off the trailer and it was parked on the roadside, being attended by a vehicle recovery truck, when B, who was uninsured, hit M and P who were standing behind the trailer at the time. The collision pushed the trailer into the Fiesta, and the Fiesta into the recovery truck. P was thrown into the air and landed on the hard shoulder. M was crushed under the trailer. Both M and P sought compensation from the Motor Insurers' Bureau, which is required under article 13 of the Motor Vehicles (Compulsory Insurance) (Information Centre and Compensation Body) Regulations 2003 to provide compensation where an insurer cannot be identified and the compensation body in the EEA state where the accident occurred is liable to make payment. The claim against the MIB was brought because, under the current state of the law, the measure of damages in France - which would be obtained by a claim in France - was lower than the English measure of damages available from the MIB.