My client Jane Foster had been out with a group of friends in Liverpool for a meal and drinks and was making her way home with two of her friends by Hackney Cab. At first the journey was entirely normal. Jane’s two friends were dropped off first, and then the taxi driver continued towards Jane’s home, where she lived with her boyfriend.
At this point, watching the taxi meter going up, Jane realised that she was not going to have enough to pay the full fare when they arrived at her house. Unfortunately, she had forgotten to take into account that because this was a night over the Christmas holiday period, the taxi fare was being charged at a higher rate.
Realising she was going to be approximately £4/£5 ‘short’ my client therefore used her mobile telephone to call her boyfriend (who was at home) asking him to get some additional cash so as to meet her when the taxi arrived and pay the driver the shortfall. She then also told the taxi driver about what her intention was, although he made no reply to that.
The taxi then arrived in Jane’s road and pulled up a short distance away from her house. Jane removed her seatbelt and leant forward to pass all the money she had through to the taxi driver in the front of the cab, explaining as she did so that although she was short her boyfriend would be there within a few moments to pay the balance of the fare (for she had called him again on her mobile a second time as they were pulling into the road). The shortfall in the fare, as anticipated by Jane was around £4. The total fare was around £30, the majority of which Jane immediately paid.
The taxi driver however, perhaps suspecting – quite wrongly – that Jane was about to jump out of the taxi without paying in full, reacted in a bizarre and aggressive manner, shouting “I have F____ing had enough of this!” and throwing the taxi into gear, accelerated away…
Jane had prior to this point made no attempt to exit the taxi but had instead sat back in her seat, looking towards her home address and had just seen her boyfriend exit the house and start to proceed towards them, when the taxi driver suddenly pulled off.
The taxi driver performed a violent u-turn and then accelerated hard along the road away from Jane’s home, much to the shock and horror both of herself and her boyfriend who was witnessing this.
As a result of the sudden u-turn manoeuvre, Jane no longer wearing her seatbelt, was thrown from her seat and landed on the floor of the taxi, banging her head and shoulder against the partition between the passenger area and the driver’s cab.
In shock and distress, Jane tried to regain her seat. However, the driver then swung his taxi to the left following the bend of the road, and then to the right as he pulled out onto another road and Jane was jolted about on the floor of the taxi and was unable to pull herself back up into her seat.
The taxi driver now announced to Jane that he was taking her to the police station – although she had no idea of knowing whether this was true or not. She implored the driver numerous times to slow down, but was ignored, and in panic used her mobile to call her boyfriend.
Her boyfriend answered his mobile and confirmed that he was now in his own car following the taxi.
Approximately 5 minutes later the taxi driver arrived at the local police station, and it was only as he slowed down on pulling into the car park that Jane was finally able to regain her seat in the back of the taxi. She was in a state of total shock and watched as her boyfriend’s car also pulled up and her boyfriend got out to confront the taxi driver who had now exited his vehicle.
Two Police officers then approached my client’s boyfriend and the taxi driver as they were arguing and after quickly ascertaining the brief facts as to what had happened, ordered everybody to sort this out between themselves, as the Police had ‘better things to do’.
In order to see an end to this very distressing incident as quickly as possible, Jane’s boyfriend then gave money to the taxi driver (more in fact than he was entitled to), assisted Jane out of the taxi and drove her home.
Jane had been unlawfully detained and suffered multiple soft tissue injuries by reason of the incident.
I presented Jane’s claim for both personal injury and wrongful detention to the taxi driver’s solicitors by way of written letter, and then, when they failed to admit liability for any aspect of the claim, commenced Court proceedings against the taxi driver.
Following negotiations, the insurers for the taxi driver agreed an out of court settlement of £10,000 plus legal fees.
Client’s name changed.
Also read: How to claim false imprisonment against a taxi driver
