Imambu Alo v Motor Vehicles Insurance (PNG) Trust ( MVIT)

• Jurisdiction: Papua New Guinea
• Citation: [1992] PNGLR 487
• Date: 07 December 1992
• Court: National Court
• Year: 1992

National Court: Brown J

Judgment Delivered: 7 December 1992

1 Evidence—motor vehicle accident—claim for damages—claim against authorised third–party insurer—absence of certificate of insurance and registration—conflict of evidence—necessity to prove elements of statutory prerequisites to claim under the Motor Vehicles (Third Party Insurance) Act—sufficiency of proof

2 Negligence—motor vehicles accident—claim of contributory negligence at trial without notice rejected—negligence of driver noted

3 Motor Vehicles (Third Party Insurance) Act (Ch295) s49, s50, s54(1); Motor Traffic Act (Ch243) s42 referred to

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Brown J: This plaintiff aged 35 claims damages for personal injuries suffered by the negligence of a driver of a motor vehicle. The accident is alleged to have occured on or about the 30 March 1990 on the Sirunki road off the Highlands Highway near Laiagam, Enga Province. I should say that I am satisfied that the accident was caused by the driver's negligence for he gave evidence of loosing control when driving too fast whereupon the vehicle overturned throwing the plaintiff who was a passenger on the tray of the utility, out onto the roadway.

I refused the defendant (hereinafter referred to as the MVIT) leave to amend its defence at the trial to allege contributory negligence. In its defence filed, the MVIT denied the accident. Hense, it is inappropriate at the trial to now say, on the other hand, if there was an...