QUARCOO v. APPIAH
March 9, 1972
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
- ABBAN J
Areas of Law
- Tort Law
- Evidence Law
March 9, 1972
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
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The plaintiff in this action claims special and general damages for the personal injuries which she sustained as a result of a motor accident involving a vehicle owned and driven by the defendant.
As stated in her evidence, the plaintiff is a member of a spiritual church, known as Bethany Church. The church is located at Kaneshie. Accra, and the plaintiff who lives at Osu always travels to Kaneshie to worship in this church. On 28 March 1969, after the usual church service, the plaintiff, in company of other members of this church, took a bus from Kaneshie bus stop to Accra Central Bus Station near the Opera Cinema. They could not get a bus to take them from this terminus to Osu as it was too late in the night and the last bus had apparently left.
Some of those persons at the bus station decided to walk home. The plaintiff and a friend of hers (the plaintiff's first witness) after some hesitation also decided to walk. Consequently, they left this bus stop.
[p.32]
They walked along the 28th February Road and on the pavement on the left side of the said road facing the direction of the Black Star Square (now Independence Square). There were other groups of persons going in the same direction and who were walking ahead of the plaintiff and her first witness. The plaintiff stated that she and her first witness were walking abreast, the plaintiff being next to the road. According to the plaintiff, when she and her first witness got to a place near the P.W.D. Headquarters and before the traffic lights in the area a vehicle suddenly emerged from behind and knocked her down on the pavement. The plaintiff suffered injuries and was rushed to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital where she was admitted and remained for eleven weeks.
The first witness for the plaintiff, Margaret Osei Kuffour, said on the night of the accident she was with the plaintiff. She averred that after the church service at Kaneshie, she and the plaintiff joined the same bus from Kaneshie to the main bus stop in Accra Central. There was no Osu bus when they got to this stop. So they were compelled to walk home. At that time, the plaintiff's first witness was also living at Osu. She said they walked on the pavement along the side of 28th February Road and they walked side by side, the plaintiff being on the right of the plaintiff's first witness. She confirmed the evidence of the plaintiff that they walked on the pavement on the left side of the said road when facing Osu direction. The first wit
AI Generated Summary
This negligence action arises from a night-time collision near the P.W.D. Headquarters on 28th February Road in Accra. After worship at Bethany Church in Kaneshie, the plaintiff and her friend walked from Accra Central Bus Station toward Osu on the left-side pavement when the defendant’s car approached from behind and struck the plaintiff. The defendant, returning from the Bank of Ghana Officers’ Club inauguration at the Community Centre, claimed she stepped into the road. The court disbelieved the defendant and his witness, finding the plaintiff remained on the pavement and that the defendant, distracted after drinks and engaged in conversation, failed to keep a proper lookout, drove too close to the pavement, and did not brake. Applying the thin skull rule, the court held the defendant liable for the full extent of the harm despite surgery being foregone due to lack of blood. Damages totaled ¢4,356.00, plus ¢500.00 costs.