No explanation of what exactly happened on that fateful 8th of January. No long pleas about guilt or innocence, let alone a sentence. The civil case that starts today in the Antwerp police court is mainly about the financial picture in the aftermath of the dramatic accident at The Jane in the Antwerp Groen Kwartier.
“A technical hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, during which we will only ask the court to appoint a forensic expert (to assess the damage at Claridge’s, ed.)”, explains Werenfried Schwagten. He is the lawyer for insurance company Zurich Insurance Company, Bril’s insurer. “We believe it is in the interest of all parties to settle this part of the case as quickly as possible.”
Crucial information withheld
For Bril, the technical hearing in the police court marks the start of a long series of appointments in the Butterfly Palace. In addition to this civil case, the final claim of the Antwerp public prosecutor’s office in the criminal investigation into the accident is awaited. This will have to show whether Nick Bril will have to answer for the accident before the police court or before the criminal court.
The latter depends on which qualifications the chamber of the council retains from the final claim in this case. In addition to driving under the influence – Nick Bril gave a positive breath test and had 1.67 per mille in his blood – he can also be charged with culpable negligence. For example, there are indications that Bril withheld crucial information after the accident when he called the emergency services.
Insurance issue
It was the car insurance of star chef Nick Bril that summoned him and victim Joe Claridge to the police court. The goal: to determine as quickly as possible how much damage the British chef has suffered, in order to be able to pay him compensation as soon as possible. Joe Claridge’s lawyer, master Peter De Maeyer, agrees with that request: “That will later enable us to draw up the concrete estimate of the human damage of my client.”
An insurance issue, but Bril is still personally present at the police court hearing today. This is confirmed by his lawyer, Mr Omar Souidi. “My client absolutely wants to be present. Out of respect for Joe, out of respect for the court, out of respect for the procedure and everyone who is directly or indirectly involved in this,” says Souidi. It is not yet clear whether Bril himself will also give a statement in court.
Staalhard verdict
As is known, the damage is dramatically large. In the accident, in which Nick Bril drove over the victim with his Land Rover after a New Year’s party in The Jane, Joe Claridge was seriously injured. He was in the University Hospital Antwerp (UZA) in Edegem for months, where the doctors kept him in an artificial coma.
It wasn’t until the end of February that he woke up from the coma, but the verdict was hard: Joe had lost both legs and was facing months of heavy rehabilitation. In early July, he was allowed to leave the UZA and moved to the specialized rehabilitation center of the University Hospital Leuven in Pellenberg.
The costs of the rehabilitation will undoubtedly run into hundreds of thousands of euros, but in practice the insurer will only be able to recover a portion of those costs from Nick Bril at the end of the ride. The maximum amount that the insurer can claim is in principle legally set at 31,000 euros. “But that calculation is certainly not on the agenda at the moment. We should not get ahead of ourselves,” says Schwagten.
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