Pledge v Roads and Traffic Authority

Ryan v Pledge [2004] HCA 13
Judgment date
Case number
S122/2003
S123/2003
S124/2003
S125/2003
Before
McHugh ACJ, Kirby, Hayne, Callinan, Heydon JJ
Catchwords

Negligence – Apportionment of liability – Assessment of causative factors in motor vehicle and pedestrian accident – Role of appellate court – Whether Court of Appeal justified in preferring own findings of fact to those of trial judge – Disadvantages faced by appellate court in assessing evidence – Where Court of Appeal made own assessment of photographs in evidence in preference to oral evidence of witnesses at trial – Where trial judge had undertaken viewing of accident site – Where Court of Appeal made speed, distance and timing calculations not proposed at trial.

Words and phrases – "appeal".

Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) – s 54.

Supreme Court Act 1970 (NSW) – s 75A.

Files
13.rtf (58.41 KB)
13.pdf (91.05 KB)