An Accra High Court has ordered the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) and the government to pay GHS229,000 in damages to a trader whose leg was amputated following injuries she sustained in an accident caused by a soldier.
The said soldier was driving a military vehicle while on official duty when the accident happened on April 14, 2007, in front of the Naval Guardroom just after the 37 Military Hospital in Accra.
According to the court, it awarded the damages after it held that it was the negligence of the soldier – Corporal Nlibi Baadah, which led to the accident that resulted in the amputation of the leg of the victim, Ms Lucy Bosso.
The complainant had filed the suit in 2017.
Apart from the damages, Justice Kyei Baffour, a Justice of the Court of Appeal with additional responsibility as a High Court judge, further awarded a cost of GHS20,000 in favour of Ms Bosso.
Justice Kyei Baffour indicated that the ruling is to provide hope to victims of road carnage that the State and the justice delivery system will not abandon them in their times of need.
Breaking the GHS229,000 down, Justice Kyei Baffour said GHS10,000 was for Ms Bosso’s medical expenses, GHS86,000 for her loss of earnings for the next 18 years which he pegged at GHS400 per month; GHS43,000 was to pay for Ms Bosso’s domestic caregiver for the next 18 years pegged at GHS200 per month, while GHS90,000 was general damages for the plaintiff’s pain, mental agony, physical disability and diminished chances of finding a suitable spouse.
Background
On April 14, 2007, Ms Bosso was travelling from Aflao in the Volta Region to Accra in a commercial vehicle with registration number GR 9204 X.
Court documents show that on reaching the traffic intersection in front of the Naval Guardroom, the vehicle collided with a military vehicle with registration number 33 GA 85 driven by Corporal Baadah which entered the main road from the Naval Guardroom section.
Ms Bosso, who was sitting in the front seat of the commercial vehicle, sustained serious injuries and was rushed to the 37 Military Hospital. Her right leg was later amputated following the crush injuries she suffered.
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Files from the Daily Graphic contributed to this report
