Where has Rome II taken us to in personal injury claims? asks Meghann McTague
The first decision on the application of Rome II came before the UK courts at the end of last year and Mr Justice Owen handed down his judgment last month. In Jacobs v Motor Insurers Bureau [2010] EWHC 231 (QB) on 19 December 2007, Mr Clinton Jacobs, a British national who was resident in the UK, was in the car park of a shopping centre in Fuengirola, Spain. He was stood at the rear of his parked vehicle when he was hit by another car and injured.
The other car was being driven by Mr Winfred Bartsch, a German national who was, at the time of the accident, resident in Spain. The vehicle was uninsured.
Had this accident happened in the UK, then the process for recovering damages for personal injury where the tortfeasor was uninsured would have been entirely straightforward; Mr Jacobs would have sought compensation from the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) through its obligation under the Uninsured Drivers’ Agreement
