Uncle K (alias), who is the plaintiff in this case had an accident from being hit by a pickup truck on December 2, 2022, on Chiang Mai-Doi Saket Road while driving a motorcycle sidecar heading into Chiang Mai downtown to return to his accommodation. The accident caused serious injury to the plaintiff, broken legs (shins), a broken left wrist, and many wounds on the face and body. He had to be hospitalized twice. The first time was for 13 days for surgery of both legs and left wrist. The second time was for 4 days for a second surgery on the left shin. This was because the bones were not reconnected which was caused by severe damage to the bones in the left shin. The doctor had to treat it by cutting out some of the bone in the plaintiff’s hip area and connecting it to the bones in the left shin. After that, the plaintiff had to spend another 5-6 months receiving treatment and recuperating at home before he could use his left arm and about 8 months to be able to use his right leg again. As for the left leg, it took up to 10 months to start walking but until now, the plaintiff’s left leg has not healed completely. He still has to use a cane to support himself when standing up or walking and is still unable to return to work.
From the investigation, it was found that the driver of the pickup truck (defendant) that hit the plaintiff was a municipal official in Chiang Mai Province. It made the plaintiff wonder if this could be the reason why he did not get justice in the first place or not. According to the facts and evidence, the plaintiff was seriously injured. However, there was no evidence that the inquiry official who was in charge of this case had gone to the hospital to interview the plaintiff, collect evidence, and charge the defendant according to the Criminal Code for driving negligently causing serious harm to others. This charge has a penalty of imprisonment not exceeding 3 years, a fine not exceeding 60,000 baht, or both (Severe punishment). The inquiry official did the opposite by charging the defendant under the Land Traffic Act for driving negligently or terribly which may cause danger to another person or property which is punishable by a fine ranging from 400-1,000 baht together with the Criminal Code for causing injury to others and property (lighter punishment) which has a penalty of imprisonment not exceeding 1 month, a fine not exceeding 10,000 baht, or both. In conclusion, the defendant was fined only 500 baht which was incorrect. According to the facts and the law, the defendant must be charged for driving negligently and causing serious harm to others. The inquiry official must collect all the evidence, conclude the case, and pass it to the prosecutor to file a lawsuit in court. This kind of result is what the lawyers generally call “blowing the case” which means turning a heavy punishment into a light one. In addition, the compensation for damage to the plaintiff was determined only 24,000 baht which is unfair, and the defendant requested to pay in installments. The inquiry official then asked the plaintiff’s representative to sign the police report as the victim/complainant which was also incorrect. Because the representative was not the plaintiff’s heir and did not receive written authorization from the plaintiff, therefore, the representative had no authority to sign on behalf of the plaintiff. In this case, it was questionable that the defendant might have planned to use this police report as a settlement agreement to fight against the plaintiff If the plaintiff later wished to claim higher compensation than those specified in the said report or not.
On November 13, 2023, Kwah Dao’s lawyer along with the plaintiff and witness went to the incident scene, drew the incident map, as well as collecting all relevant evidence, and then filed a lawsuit at the Chiang Mai District Court on November 30, 2023, demanding damages to the plaintiff as follows:
- Physical and mental damages 175,000 baht
- Medical service fees that are not included in healthcare rights 670 baht
- Payment for others to pick up and drop off at the hospital and other expenses 20,865 baht
- Motorcycle repair costs and others 3,970 baht
- Loss of earning capacity (past) 86,400 baht
- Interest before filing 13,000 baht
Total damages: 299,905 baht (excluding Loss of earning capacity (future) 7,200 baht per month plus 5 percent interest)
The court has scheduled a trial on February 13, 2024, with the plaintiff and defendant appearing in court. Both parties agreed to mediate and were able to settle. The defendant admitted guilt and agreed to compensate for damages of 150,000 baht by installment. The plaintiff agreed with the defendant under the condition that if the defendant failed to pay the damages as agreed, the plaintiff reserved the right to execute the original amount of damages (299,905 baht) plus 5 percent interest, and also reserved the right to file a criminal case against the defendant for driving negligently and causing serious injury to the plaintiff when necessary.
