Leach v The Nominal Defendant

In *Leach v The Nominal Defendant*, the appellant, a passenger in a Mitsubishi vehicle, suffered injuries from gunshots fired from a Commodore vehicle following a collision between the two cars. The appellant sought to recover damages from the Nominal Defendant, alleging that the injuries were caused by the fault of the driver of the Commodore in the use or operation of that vehicle, pursuant to s 3A of the *Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999* (NSW). The matter was heard in the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the appellant's injuries, sustained from the gunshots fired after the initial collision, were caused by the fault of the driver of the Commodore in the use or operation of that vehicle, either during its driving or during the collision itself. This required an examination of the causal link between the driver's actions and the subsequent shooting.

The Court of Appeal reasoned that the injuries caused by the gunshots were not a consequence of the negligent driving or the collision itself, but rather an independent act by the occupants of the Commodore. The court applied the principles of causation in tort law, finding that the chain of causation between the driver's fault in the use or operation of the Commodore and the appellant's injuries had been broken by the intervening criminal act of firing the gun. The appeal was dismissed with costs.