Driving examiner sues two more motorists after court win

A DRIVING examiner who has successfully sued over injuries he suffered during a test is pursuing compensation from two other motorists over recent road accidents.

Andrew Carmichael was yesterday awarded damages after a judge ruled learner driver Lisa Connolly had braked too suddenly during her driving test in Edinburgh.

It has now emerged that he has also filed claims against delivery driver John Mould and a third driver. All the accidents in which he was allegedly injured took place within 17 months.

Mr Carmichael, 35, of Braeside Park, Mid Calder, West Lothian, claims the series of accidents left him unable to carry out such basic tasks as shopping, looking after his children, walking the dog and helping around the house.

But Mr Mould, 51, of Blackford Hill Grove, said his insurance company is contesting the claim against him.

"I was really shocked when I got a letter in December saying I was being sued for 20,000. I had just lost my job with a printing company a few days before," he said.

"It took days of calling around lawyers to discover it was over a very minor collision I had the year before. Fortunately, my insurance company is contesting the claim."

Mr Mould, who now works part-time at Tesco in Bruntsfield, said he was doing deliveries in a Ford Transit van for a tyre company at the time of the accident.

"I was driving back to the depot behind a Vauxhall Corsa and the lights at the Calder Road roundabout were at green. When the lights changed to amber the driver in front broke sharply, and I did the same. The road was wet and I slid into the back of the Corsa.

"It was just a bump and the van never even damaged the Corsa's number plate – that's how minor it was. Both Mr Carmichael and the student in the car with him got out, and they both seemed fine.

"We exchanged details at the side of the road and I never heard anything else about it until December.

"I hope the insurance company insists on stringent medical checks, but I'm told whiplash can be hard to prove. Mr Carmichael seems to have been very unlucky. Three injury claims in a year-and-a-half is a lot."

Mr Carmichael won his first compensation claim at the Court of Session in Edinburgh yesterday. The court heard how he suffered whiplash injuries after Ms Connolly braked suddenly during her test on Sir Harry Lauder Road on December 4, 2006.

He is claiming 15,000 damages, although the court has yet to rule how much he will receive.

NIG Insurance, which insured the driving instructor's car that Miss Connolly was using, contested the claim.

The driving instructor has two other compensation cases ready to go before the courts in November, in which he alleges his original injury was worsened by subsequent accidents.

He is seeking 20,000 in damages over the bump involving Mr Mould on November 26, 2007, saying he suffered pins and needles in his left hand, and neck and shoulder pain for six months.

And he is suing Zurich Insurance following a third accident on April 23, 2008, where he alleges he sustained yet another whiplash-type injury to his neck.

Mr Carmichael declined to comment when contacted by the Evening News.