Can I appeal?
I was in court last week in my bike accident claim. I was claiming against a car driver for injuries caused in the accident but Iost my case at court. My Dad said I could appeal the court’s decision and have a retrial. Basically, the accident involved the car driver turning in front of me. The judge found entirely in favour of the car driver. I don’t think the judge understood the evidence that I gave. Can I appeal?
Alex G, by e-mail
Answer
There is a time limit of 21 days from the court decision in which to lodge an appeal. To succeed you will need to show that the judge was
(a) plainly wrong in law or fact (and this had a bearing or the result) or;
(b) erred seriously in his judgment – in other words that no reasonable judge would have found as he did.
The most sensible approach would be for the lawyer who represented you to write an urgent short opinion on the prospects of a successful appeal and ask your legal expenses insurer to fund it. They may not due to proportionality (costs versus benefit to be derived) if the case is only of modest value. I note you don’t say how badly injured you were. If the insurer does not agree to fund it then your other option is to pay privately. Again you may feel proportionality will rule this option out.
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