Corrupt legal system a tragedy for accident victims

• Dishonest lawyers and insurers are some of the hurdles that litter road to compensation

And the longer a case stays in court, the more costly it is to the plaintiff. Most lawyers demand 30 per cent of the award, in addition to other incidentals like a fee for “opening the file”.

Close down

“In the final analysis, the chances of recovery are lost because of the long time it takes to award the victims and that will be the end of the story,” Mr Wachira says.

“If you cannot enforce a claim against the owner of the car involved in an accident or the insurer, then you are done,” he said.

Woe unto those who are hit by a state-owned vehicle.

“You will eventually get a court judgment, yes. But the problem is enforcing it against the Government,” said Mr Wachira.

“The Government is not known for being prompt at paying up,” he said.

Some victims die before they see a penny of their money.

Mr Ramji Harji Kimji’s case is a typical example. By the time Judge Mary Ang’awa was delivering her ruling, Mr Kimji had died.

He died on August 16, 2004 — about 14 years after the accident in which he sustained injuries and nine years after seeking the court’s help to get compensation.

Since died

Two years later, the owner of the car asked the court to dismiss Mr Kimji’s case “as it had abated”.

Mr Enock Segoro was awarded Sh400,000 for a fracture of left tibia and fibula and concussion he sustained in an accident on his way from Machakos on March 22, 1991. But it was the wife who would eventually receive the award on May 3, 2001 as Mr Segoro had since died.

“The plaintiff died, I believe, in another road accident,” said the judge.

Doctors and lawyers also contribute to victims’ misery by giving a wrong assessment of the injuries sustained.