GUARDIAN ASSURANCE CO., LTD. vs. AGBEMATU

The respondent sustained severe injury in a motor accident on 11 August 1963, and as a result his left leg was amputated. He successfully sued the driver of the vehicle in which he was travelling at the time of the accident and was awarded ¢G4,000 damages and 80 guineas costs by the High Court, Accra, on 1 May 1964. The driver of the said vehicle, before the accident, had taken out a third party insurance policy issued by the present appellants. After a fruitless attempt by the respondent’s solicitor to convince the appellants to pay the judgment debt under the terms of the policy, the respondent took action against the appellants by virtue of the provisions of section 10 of the Motor Vehicles (Third Party Insurance) Act, 1958 (No. 42 of 1958), to recover the said judgment debt. The appellants defended the action and disclaimed any liability under the policy on the ground that the respondent was not a passenger but a mate employed by the insured driver and as such the injury suff...