Appeals court rulings clarify liability in two historic traffic accident cases

The Cyprus Appeals Court recently issued two rulings concerning historical traffic accidents. In the first case involving an accident in Paphos 18 years ago, the court awarded €180,000 to M.M., who was injured while a passenger on a moped driven by the late B.A.C. The court held B.A.C. solely liable for the collision due to severe intoxication. M.M.’s contributory negligence was maintained at 40% for choosing to ride with an intoxicated driver. Consequently, the driver of the other vehicle, S.X., and her insurer, Cosmos Insurance Ltd, were fully absolved of liability, overturning a previous 15% fault allocation.

In a separate case, the Appeals Court overturned a district court decision regarding a motorcycle accident in Lakatamia. The initial ruling had assigned 30% of the fault to a motorcyclist injured by a car making a sudden right turn. Judge Charalampous ruled that the previous court had incorrectly assessed the facts, determining the car driver was entirely responsible for the collision. This decision affects a previous compensation award of €11,626. Both cases highlight the significant delays in the judicial process, as these accidents occurred many years ago.