Pieces of Coal Hit Her Car

The “balance of probabilities” swung in Pamela Skelton’s favour, when she took Express Coal to court over damage to her car caused by pieces of coal, the residue from a lorry load, falling from an empty truck.

She was driving in the left lane on the N2 with friends from Durban, when an empty Express Coal lorry overtook her, then swung sharply to the left in front of her, onto an off-ramp. As the lorry swung left, several large pieces of coal flew off the back and chipped the windscreen and bonnet of her car.

She reported the incident to the company, but manager Hetesh Singh said it was impossible for the residue of a load of coal to have caused such damage, and suggested she put in an insurance claim.. Ms Skelton told Commisisoner Epsteint: “One of my passengers saw the pieces of coal hit my car - I take exception to the inference that I’ve made up the story.”

Mr Singh told the court they had a fleet of 40 lorries, and needed to know which lorry was involved. Asked by the commissioner if he’d made any attempt himself to find out which vehicle had caused the damage, he said: “The vague description we got made it impossible to check.”

He added: “We don’t have large pieces of coal, only small pieces.”

He said coal, unlike stone, was much lighter and of less density, and while stone could smash a windscreen, it was unlikely that coal could.

“As coal falls to the ground, it shatters,” he told the court.

Ruling in Ms Skelton’s favour, Commissioner Epstein said without any proof of which vehicle had been where at the time in question, he accepted the evidence that a passenger in the car had seen the coal fall.

He said Singh’s attitude, in suggesting Ms Skelton go the insurance route, “leaves much to be desired”, and he had no doubt that the damage was caused by falling coal.