An Assault On Compulsory Third Party Insurance

Bambach v Cherie Perin & Benjamin John Taylor [2008] ACTSC 14

In this interlocutory application, the Master of the ACT Supreme Court determined that an assault inflicted by the second defendant following a motor vehicle collision was not an injury of the type that would trigger indemnity from the compulsory third party insurer.

Facts

The defendant's vehicle and the plaintiff's vehicle came into contact when they proceeded through a roundabout at the same time. The parties pulled to the side of the road after the collision when, it was alleged, the second defendant approached the plaintiff holding a steering wheel lock. The second defendant verbally abused and spat at the plaintiff, and swung the wheel lock at the plaintiff's head. The plaintiff raised his arm to protect his head, receiving a blow on the arm, causing it to break. The first defendant then picked up a stick and threw it at the plaintiff's leg. Notably, the plaintiff had received no injuries from