CHARON QC
Personal injury specialist?
This article is written by the self-styled “Charon QC” who writes about his life in an increasingly popular blog which can be found at http://charonqc.wordpress.com. It
provides an eclectic mix of law, humour and contemporary interest ranging from
politics to sport. Above all, it gives us access to perhaps the best character
to emerge from the law since Rumpole. We are therefore honoured that Charon QC
has generously agreed to write exclusively for the Personal Injury Brief Update
Law Journal each month. This is the first example that we are aware of that a
blawger (law blogger) has been given his own column in an official law journal.
When Tim Kevan invited me to write for your serious law journal I checked
the level on my bottle of Rioja. It was 6.45 pm and I had barely
taken but a few tentative sips. Tim is an enthusiast.
I suspect it would not really matter what he was doing, he would
still be enthusiastic. It is infectious. I warmed to the
idea, particularly when I discovered that I would not actually have to
dust off the books and give a view on the latest cases. Tim assured
me that there were contributors, who did actually know what they
were doing, to do that.
So here I am, "Charon QC' contributing to a learned journal.
A blawger, known for writing little about law, writing for a
serious law journal. A first, I think?
Well... I am delighted to do so. Serendipitously, given the
subject matter of the journal, I am able to start, this first of my
monthly reports, with a 'true life story' of injury, pain and suffering
and damage and, in the case of the mottrorbike crash, pose a question
for you on contributory negligence - not because I wish to get some free advice,
but to provide some tenuous connection with the law which may engage your
mind.
On or about 6th October I was riding a motorcycle and waiting at
a junction, correctly positioned in the road and indicating
my intention to turn right in the Highway code approved manner. A
woman car driver hit me from behind at 40 mph. She claimed
that she had not seen me. The light was poor. It was
drizzling. Dusk would be a good description given the time and overcast
conditions. I was wearing a bright yellow waterproof jacket and a
bright yellow helmet. I was indicating to turn right and my motorbike is
one of the largest models on the road. I am 6ft 1". I was
pretty visible. I was able to avoid an oncoming vehicle by pure
chance. The bike toppled, landed on top of me and I was dragged
about thirty yards down the road by the force of the impact.
I had little interest in hanging around waiting for Police
Traffic officers to arrive two hours later or spending ten hours in
A&E waiting to be seen by an exhausted doctor. I have
experience, from my time in Africa, in stitching myself up and
administering fairly serious first aid. I knew I could walk.
If one can stand on a leg, it is not, generally, broken. My head did
not loll forward, so I knew that my neck was not broken. A nurse friend
lived nearby. I hobbled off to see her - despite the best intentions
and actions of pedestrians, who had witnessed the accident, to call
Police, Fire Brigade, Ambulance and sundry other government agencies. She
put some plasters on the more visible wounds. I sorted the more
difficult ones with plasters on grounds of modesty. A glass or two of
Rioja at The Swan calmed my central nervous system down and prevented
'shock'.
During the night I had to stitch the most serious wound up myself - with
cotton sterilised in boiling water and brandy. The plaster was not
sufficient to hold the skin and stem the bleeding. It was a
bit rough and ready, but did the trick. To cut a long story short - I
did report the matter to the Police the next day - they weren't
terribly interested. I did visit a hospital and they confirmed that
I had nasty wounds but no full fractures - just hairline fractures.
They were horrified that I had 'operated' on my own wound. The irony
is that the wounds treated by the hospital - although
beautifully dressed, - became infected - whereas the big wound,
which I had stitched, healed perfectly. It was a good brandy.
Camus XO.
In all, the injuries took three months to heal properly - but
the medication to get rid of the infection in two of the wounds laid
me low and caused me far more problems than the original injury.
Lawyer friends are encouraging me to claim against the driver. I
have little taste for tying up my precious spare time making a
claim. The question I have for you - to what extent would my damages
for injuries et al (the bike had minimal damage) be reduced
by contributory negligence (a) for delaying medical treatment to
the next day? (b) for operating on myself? and (c) would it make
any difference to the claim that I may have been about to engage in
an 'illegal act'; namely, an attempt to procure a peerage from Number
10 just to see if they were 'up for it'...or, indeed, if they had
ever been up for it?
I end by relating that this very morning, shortly before filing
this report, I fell down the stairs in my house and appear to
have cracked or broken the big toe on my left foot. Experience has
taught me that visiting London hospitals on a Sunday, unless one
is seriously injured or ill, is a complete waste of time. If my toe
is, in fact, broken, it will not be that much more broken tomorrow and
I am perfectly capable of strapping it up if it is.
Unfortunately there is no-one I can sue on this occasion - but I am going
to have a good look at Construction Law and the Building Regulations to
ensure that the staircase is not too steep. I have prescribed myself a
good Rioja.
I assume that Tim Kevan knows what he is doing by inviting me to file a
monthly report. We shall certainly find out if no further reports appear
in your journal. I am, however, grateful for the opportunity to write
about these matters. Catharsis?
A piu tarde
Charon
For more
writing and wisdom from Charon QC, visit his blog at http://charonqc.wordpress.com.
