Appeal dismissed as plaintiff fails to prove accident caused need for surgery

The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal brought by a plaintiff seeking to recover damages, including for spinal surgery and anticipated future surgery, allegedly resulting from a road traffic accident. The High Court had previously awarded the plaintiff damages only for soft tissue injuries, finding insufficient evidence to link the plaintiff’s subsequent right-sided symptoms and surgical interventions to the accident, as expert medical opinion shifted during cross-examination and could not support causation. The Court of Appeal upheld this decision, finding no procedural irregularity and concluding that, in the absence of a clear temporal association between the accident and the onset of right-sided symptoms, the judge’s refusal to include surgical costs in damages was correct. Allegations of withheld or redacted evidence were dismissed as unfounded, with the court commending the High Court’s scrupulous fairness toward the self-representing appellant.