Mr Couzens claimed damages for personal injuries sustained on 3 May 2003 when the tipper lorry he was driving overturned while he was leaving the M1 Motorway at Junction 6.
It was common ground that the vehicle overturned because it was going too fast.Mr Couzens alleged this was because he had been unable to move his right foot from the accelerator to the brake because, he said, a makeshift tool had got caught in his trouser leg because his employers had not provided a suitable place to keep it.