AN accident victim is suing Rockdrill Trading (Private) Limited for US$83,500 in damages after he was injured when the company's haulage truck crashed into his parked car, but the High Court has ruled that his claim cannot proceed until he fixes several major errors.

Nathan Mvere says he was hurt and his Nissan Sunny destroyed when the truck, allegedly driven by Wellington Chihwa, rammed into his vehicle on March 26, 2022, along Macheke-Virginia road. He also claims US$6,500 he kept in the car went missing during the accident.

But Rockdrill Trading challenged the lawsuit, arguing that Mvere left out key legal requirements.

It said he failed to state that the driver was acting both within the course and within the scope of his employment two separate elements needed to hold an employer liable. Justice Samuel Deme of the High Court of Zimbabwe agreed, saying the terms are not the same and must both appear in the claim.

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The judge said the omission is serious but correctable.

Rockdrill also argued that Chihwa should have been cited as a party, and Mvere admitted he had left him out. Justice Deme ruled that although non-joinder does not collapse a claim, the lawsuit is incomplete without citing the driver, so the exception had to be upheld.

On the US$6,500, the court found that Mvere did not explain how the money disappeared. Justice Deme said the law demands clear essential facts, not "general statements," and upheld the third exception.

Mvere had tried to argue that Rockdrill filed its paperwork late, but the court dismissed this, finding that he himself had filed his replication out of time and only regularised it later.

Deme upheld all three exceptions and ordered Mvere to pay costs. He emphasised that the case is not dismissed, but Mvere must correct his summons and declaration if he wants the damages claim to proceed.