Cyclist injured by drink driver fails in insurance payout bid

A cyclist who ended up in intensive care after a drink driver hit him has failed in a court bid to win a $220,000 payout from an insurance company.

A Grand Court judge ruled that the Insurance Company of the West Indies (Cayman) (ICWI) was not liable for the injuries caused to bartender Micah Jensen.

The judgment said that driver, Willie Hurlston-Cruz, had bought the car from another man, but the previous owner’s agreement to keep his insurance for the vehicle in place until new coverage was arranged did not bind ICWI.

Justice Marlene Carter said in her written judgment released on 27 Jan., that, even though Hurlston-Cruz had not paid any compensation to Jensen and was “impecunious” the insurance company had no liability.

Carter wrote, “It is unfortunate that the plaintiff has been left in the position that he finds himself, through no fault of his own.

“He has a judgment against an impecunious defendant in Cruz. However, that circumstance cannot weigh upon the issue of the legal liability of the defendant in this case.”

She added, “There is no legal nexus between Cruz and the defendant. The application for a declaration has been dismissed.”

Carter also ordered Jensen to pay ICWI’s costs for the proceedings.

Cyclist hit in early hours

The judgment came after barrister Nicholas Dixey, appeared for Jensen, a Canadian citizen who was working as a bartender in Cayman when he was hit by Hurlston-Cruz as he cycled along West Bay Road in the early hours of the morning on 10 Apr. 2017 and argued the insurance company should pay out.

The court earlier heard that the registered owner of the Toyota RAV4 SUV was Troy Otis Claxton, who had insurance for the vehicle with ICWI.

Claxton had sold the vehicle to Hurlston-Cruz in March that year but agreed to remain the registered owner and continue the insurance policy to give time for the new owner to save up enough money to insure it in his own name.

But Hurlston-Cruz, who later admitted drink driving and careless driving, hit Jensen just weeks after he took possession of the car.

Dixey argued at the original hearing that there was nothing in the insurance policy that excluded the insurance arrangement between the two.

Jensen sued Hurlston-Cruz and the insurance company in 2018, but neither signalled an intention to defend the claim.

An agreement was reached for damages under a consent judgment that Cruz-Hurlston would pay $200,000 in damages and $20,000 in costs.

But a submission by Jensen said, “Mr. Hurlston-Cruz has made no payment to date against the judgment debt.”

The consent judgment was served on ICWI in November 2022.

Enforcement action taken

Jensen’s submission added that he had instructed his lawyers to take enforcement action against Hurlston-Cruz and a charging order was obtained against a property in 2024.

He said, however, that there was “little prospect of the judgment debt being satisfied in full by a sale any time in the short to medium term. In the meantime, I have incurred liability to pay significant legal fees in pursuing the claim.”

Lawyers for ICWI insisted that Claxton had been paid in full for the car and that he “no longer retained any proprietary interest in it”.

Their submission added, “Accordingly, he had relinquished any insurable interest in the vehicle and his insurance policy was no longer valid and enforceable as a matter of law.

“In these circumstances, it was not within Claxton’s power to permit Hurlston-Cruz to drive the vehicle or extend the benefit of his insurance policy, which had lapsed upon his insurable interest in it being relinquished to Hurlston-Cruz.”

Carter also pointed out there was no written agreement between Claxton and Hurlston-Cruz over the car and that the previous owner had said he had been paid in full, although the buyer said that he had still to pay some cash before title to the vehicle transferred.

She said in her judgment that “Claxton was not the owner of the vehicle at the time of the accident”.

Carter ruled, “Ownership and possession of the vehicle had passed to Cruz.”