Wednesday, September 6th, 2017
Nina Kennedy and ors v Veronica McKenzie 2017 [CSOH] 118
The deceased was killed in a road traffic accident in whichthe defender lost control of her car whilst taking a corner at moderatespeed. The deceased was the front seatpassenger. The defender’s son was in theback seat. The defender maintained that the accident had been caused by an unusually slippery road surface. At the criminal trial the defender had successfully made a no case to answer submission.
Lord Uist held that the defender had failed to rebut the presumption of negligence raised by the facts of the accident. Many other vehicles had used that stretch of road without incident and there was no evidence of any particular substancecausing a transient hazard. A further proof was fixed in relation to quantum.
The pursuers were represented by Robert Milligan QC and Gavin Thornley and the defender was represented by Steve Love QC and Kate Bennett,all of Compass Chambers. Steve Love QC had earlier represented the defender at the criminal diet. A copy of the Opinion can be found here.