ACCIDENT VICTIM URGES PROTECTION FOR MOTORISTS ABROAD (Diana Wallis MEP)

Diana Wallis MEP <info@dianawallismep.org.uk>

ACCIDENT VICTIM URGES PROTECTION FOR MOTORISTS ABROAD

January 13, 2005 4:16 PM

A British woman who lost her partner in a tragic accident in Austria is today backing her local MEP in a fight to strengthen the right to coverage for legal costs from motor accidents abroad. New legislation to be voted in the European Parliament today could provide peace of mind for the many British motorists who travel in Europe and the thousands that suffer accidents every year.

In 2000 Jane Hills of Brighouse, West Yorkshire, was involved in a road accident in which her partner was killed and she was left with serious injuries. She pursued a claim for compensation but was drawn into the ensuing criminal proceedings in Austria. Mrs Hills went to Diana Wallis MEP after she became embroiled with lawyers in both Austria and the UK.

Mrs Hills said,

"It was not clear whether my case would be decided under English or Austrian law. On one occasion I had to return to Austria for medical examinations at my own expense and was also harassed for translation costs. It is four and a half years since the accident and still I don't know what compensation I will finally receive. It will be considerably less than if the case was dealt with directly in England. It has been a very, very distressing ordeal."

Ms Wallis believes Mrs Hills' story exposes a grave flaw in the EU's motor insurance regime, an overhaul of which is currently being conducted by the European Parliament and national governments. She wants insurance companies to provide automatic coverage for all reasonable legal costs involved in accidents in the EU (such cover is already offered optionally by many insurers at a cost of £10 - 15 per year).

Ms Wallis also wants it made clear that in cases such as Mrs Hills', victims should be able to bring proceedings against the other party's insurance representatives directly in their home country, thus doing away with the need for two sets of lawyers and foreign legal proceedings. She believes that had they been in place in 2000, the provisions she is proposing would have saved Mrs Hills from much of her legal ordeal.

Speaking today Diana Wallis, who is the European Liberal Democrat legal affairs spokesman, said,

"Nobody who suffers such a tragic accident should be subjected to this sort of bureaucracy and then be drawn into two different legal jurisdictions - one of which is entirely foreign to them."

"Many British motorists are unaware when they set off on a holiday or business trip that they have less coverage for legal costs than they have at home. As citizens as well as consumers in a single market, it is only reasonable that people should have a proper level of coverage, and a simple procedure for claiming legal costs."