Vörður drops appeal after agreeing to compensate injured passenger

Vörður insurance has dropped its appeal in a case involving a man injured when a pickup truck carrying him reversed into a post, mbl.is reports. The parties agreed on compensation in line with an assessment by court-appointed experts obtained during proceedings at the Court of Appeal.

The Reykjavík District Court had previously ruled that Vörður was liable to pay compensation. The insurer had denied liability, arguing that the collision was very minor and that the man had not proved it caused him an injury.

The accident happened on 20 February 2024 at a petrol station in Ártúnshöfði. The man was travelling with three colleagues in a pickup used for winter road maintenance in Reykjavík. As they set off after a meal break, the driver reversed into a post while watching for a lorry in the forecourt. He said he had not seen the post because a salt container on the truck bed blocked his view. He estimated the truck was moving at one to four kilometres per hour.

The man was in the back seat and sought medical attention immediately. He was diagnosed with back pain and a sprain. He had also been involved in a traffic accident in 2018 and had lasting effects from that incident.

Vörður relied in part on PC-Crash calculations to argue that the collision was too slight to cause an injury. The district court found the calculations had limited evidential value because they did not account for medical records or the man’s physical condition. It said the impact had to be assessed in light of individual circumstances, including whether the person was prepared for it. Both the man and the driver said the collision had taken them by surprise.

Based on medical certificates, a physiotherapist’s report and an expert assessment, the district court found that the man had proved he suffered an injury for which compensation was due. The case concerned liability, not the amount of compensation, so the court did not make a final finding on the extent of his losses.

The court recognised Vörður’s liability in a judgment on 20 January and ordered the insurer to pay the man 2.5 million Icelandic krónur in legal costs. Vörður appealed in February. Court-appointed experts submitted a new assessment to the Court of Appeal in October.

On 9 November, Vörður told the court that the parties had agreed on payment of the legal costs set by the district court and compensation in line with the new assessment. The compensation amount was not stated in the Court of Appeal’s ruling, which dismissed the case after the insurer withdrew its appeal. The court did not rule on the substance of the dispute.

Vörður was ordered to pay 700,000 krónur in legal costs for the appeal, to be paid into the state treasury. The man’s legal aid costs will also be covered by the state, including a 700,000-króna fee for his lawyer.