Rock Guitarist Awarded $330,000
Jun 5th, 2006 by guitarnews
FORMER Australian Crawl lead guitarist Simon Binks has been awarded $330,000 by a Sydney court after suffering brain damage in a car accident.
Binks was almost three times over the drink-driving limit when he hit a power pole in his Mercedes-Benz in July 1995.
He sued North Sydney Council in the NSW Supreme Court for negligence, claiming the council was liable for the crash because road works in the vicinity were not properly lit or sign-posted.
Binks, 49, claimed the accident left him brain damaged and unable to make a normal living.
Justice Clifton Hoeben today found in his favour, saying the council had breached its duty of care.
“The combination of the configuration of the road works with the inadequate signage created a confusing and ambiguous situation,” he said.
“Confusion in the mind of a motorist could lead to serious injury or death.”
However, he also found that Binks, who recorded a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.133 just after the smash, had substantially contributed to the accident.
The judge calculated that the former musician would have been entitled to almost $918,000 in damages, but reduced it by 65 per cent for contributory negligence, awarding Binks damages of $330,235.
Binks, who lives in Melbourne, was not in court for today’s decision
From AAP 25th May 2006
