Sharp v Carlin

[2015] QDC 288

DISTRICT COURT OF QUEENSLAND

CITATION:

Sharp v Carlin & Anor [2015] QDC 288

PARTIES:

ROSANNA MARIE SHARP

(plaintiff)

v

MURRAY ALEXANDER CARLIN

(first defendant)

and

AAI LIMITED ABN 48 005 297 807 TRADING AS SUNCORP INSURANCE

(second defendant)

FILE NO/S:

BD 1403/2014

DIVISION:

Civil

PROCEEDING:

Trial

ORIGINATING COURT:

District Court at Brisbane

DELIVERED ON:

20 November 2015

DELIVERED AT:

Brisbane

HEARING DATE:

16 November 2015

JUDGE:

Samios DCJ

ORDER:

1.          The plaintiff’s claim against the first defendant and the second defendant is dismissed.

CATCHWORDS:

NEGLIGENCE – BREACH OF DUTY – PERSONAL INJURIES – ROAD ACCIDENTS – Pedestrian

Legislation

Transport Operations (Road Use Management – Road Rules) Regulation 2009 (Qld) s 141

Cases

Caldwell v Deka (Unreported, Supreme Court of New South Wales Court of Appeal, Kirby, Clarke and Meagher JJ, 16 June 1993)

Derrick v Cheung (2001) 181 ALR 301, [13]

Knight v Maclean [2002] NSWCA 314, [66], [67] and [68]

Stocks & McDonald Hamilton Co Pty Ltd v Baldwin [1996] NSWCA 1

COUNSEL:

Ms J McClymont for the plaintiff

Mr R Lynch for the defendants

SOLICITORS:

Shine Lawyers for the plaintiff

Bray Lawyers for the defendants

1. The plaintiff (Ms Sharp) claims against the defendants damages for personal injuries, loss and damage she suffered when she was struck by a bus.

1. Ms Sharp sues the first defendant who was the bus driver and the second defendant which is the insurer of the bus.

1. There is no dispute Ms Sharp suffered personal injuries, loss and damage as a result of the collision. The quantum of Ms Sharp’s damages is agreed at $175,000. Liability remains an issue.

1. Ms Sharp was born on 1 November 1988. At about 5.55pm on Friday 20 December 2010 she was in the process of walking to her place of work at Cue in the Wintergarden complex on the Queen Street Mall. She gave evidence that she got the bus in from the Gap to King George Square. She said there was always a lot of people on the Friday night, people shopping and there was always a lot of cars, a lot of people everywhere. She said there was people walking across Adelaide Street left, right and centre as well as cars. She noticed as the days approached Christmas before this collision there was more traffic and more people out on a Friday night. She said that is how it was on the day of her accident.

2. Ms Sharp said she came out of King George Square bus station. She walked down the road to her left. She decided to cross the road a little bit further down to her left after exiting the bus station and then she proceeded across the road.  She observed the traffic was banked up a long way. The lights were red. Her immediate lane that she would be crossing was completely clear, and she decided that it would be safe to get across the road at that point. She said the lights were red right outside King George Square…