Ansan Traffic Accident Attorney | Retaliatory Driving Attorney Reduces Retaliatory Driving Damages Claim by More Than Half

While operating a motorcycle, the client engaged in reckless driving, such as sounding his horn, chasing the taxi, and obstructing its course, after a taxi driver drove excessively close to the client's motorcycle.

As a result, the client was sentenced to a fine of 1 million won under the Road Traffic Act.

The taxi driver, too, was sentenced to a fine of 3 million won for the crime of special (aggravated) assault and received a 100-day license suspension. He subsequently filed for a formal trial contesting this and received a verdict of not guilty.

Afterward, however, the taxi driver filed a lawsuit claiming damages in the amount by which he had been unable to operate his taxi due to the client's retaliatory and reckless driving.

Accordingly, the client requested that the retaliatory driving attorney and the traffic accident specialist attorney of Daeryun defend against the lawsuit.

🔗Liability for damages in a traffic accident arises when, while operating a motor vehicle, one damages the body or property of another. In Korea, this liability is expressly provided for by the Civil Act and the Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation Act.

▣ Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation Act, Article 3 (Liability for Damages From Automobile Accidents)

A person who operates an automobile for himself shall, where he has caused the death or injury of another person through such operation, be liable to compensate for the damage.

Here, the phrase ‘a person who operates an automobile for himself’ refers to the person who takes the benefit of the operation. For example, if a chauffeur is driving his employer's automobile and an accident occurs, it is the employer who bears liability for damages.

For liability for damages from a traffic accident, the Civil Act applies in the case of property damage, excluding personal injury. The Civil Act referred to here mainly concerns the provisions on torts.

▣ Civil Act, Article 750 (Definition of Tort)

A person who causes damage to another by an unlawful act, intentionally or negligently, shall be liable to compensate for such damage.

The taxi driver argued that, because he had been unable to operate the taxi during the license suspension period as a result of the client's tort, the client should pay the corresponding lost income.

In response, the retaliatory driving attorney argued that the license suspension imposed on the taxi driver was not the result of the plaintiff's tort, but rather an administrative disposition imposed on the taxi driver by the administrative authority before the verdict of not guilty was confirmed.

The taxi driver argued for the necessity of the client paying damages for emotional distress, on the ground that he had been indicted for the crime of special (aggravated) assault as a result of this case and had thereby suffered emotional distress, but the attorney argued that, as set out above, this resulted from the administrative disposition.

The retaliatory driving attorney argued that, even if the client's reckless driving constituted a tort and the client therefore had an obligation to pay damages for emotional distress to the taxi driver, the amount of damages claimed by the taxi driver was excessive.

If, like the client above, you are sued in a civil action by a victim of retaliatory driving, it is important to prove that there is no causal relationship between your tort of retaliatory driving and the damages claimed by the victim.

If you need help in this regard, please request the help of the retaliatory driving attorney of Daeryun Law Firm.