Latest news with #Slater&Gordon
Sky News AU
23-04-2025
- Sky News AU
Teen cyclist involved in near-fatal crash with Daniel Andrews' family SUV ends legal battle with Slater & Gordon in quiet settlement weeks before trial
The then-teenage cyclist who was gravely injured in a near-fatal collision with Daniel Andrews' family SUV has secured a quiet settlement with law firm Slater & Gordon just weeks before a trial was set to begin. Ryan Meuleman, then 15years-old, was hospitalised in January 2013 following a harrowing collision with the Andrews' family SUV while he was riding his bike in the Victorian beachside suburb of Blairgowrie. Mr Andrews, who was the Victorian opposition leader at the time, was in the front passenger seat of the family's Ford Territory, which was being driven by his wife, Catherine. The couple have both insisted the vehicle came to a 'complete stop' before turning right and being 't-boned' by Ryan's bike. But a review by a former Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner, Dr Raymond Shuey, commissioned by the Meuleman family, determined the SUV had likely been 'travelling at speed' and had cut the corner before striking the bike, accusing Victoria Police of engaging in 'an overt cover-up to avoid implicating a political figure in a life-threatening crash'. Labor-aligned law firm Slater & Gordon secured an $80,000 compensation payment from the Transport Accident Commission for Ryan, but his parents maintain neither of them reached out to the law firm to represent their son. The lawsuit against Slater & Gordon accuses the firm of not conducting a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash, as well as failing to act in Ryan's best interests and breaching its duty of care when negotiating the $80,000 payment. Ryan's dad, Peter Meuleman, who has vigorously fought for his son throughout the more than a decade-long saga, previously said Ryan "didn't count for anything to them". "He was treated like he was disposable... He was just a political problem to them," Mr Meuleman said. Ryan's barrister, Marcus Clarke KC, confirmed to on Wednesday the case with Slater & Gordon had been settled outside of court, just weeks before it was due to be heard before the Supreme Court. Mr Clarke told the Herald Sun: 'In the end he received an offer too good to refuse'. Ryan suffered severe injuries in the collision, including a punctured lung, broken ribs and internal bleeding, spending 10 days in hospital. In the triple-0 audio, Mr Andrews can be heard requesting an ambulance to the corner of Ridley Street and Melbourne Road in Blairgowrie, near a bike path. "We've turned right into Ridley Street and a kid's come flying through on the bike path and we've hit him," Mr Andrews told the triple-0 operator. "He is conscious, but he's in a lot of pain." Despite admitting to the emergency dispatcher 'we've hit him', Mr Andrews then signed a statement at Springvale Police Station on February 5, 2013 that read: "I want to make it clear - the cyclist hit our vehicle". However, a court battle between the Meuleman family and the couple still looms, the latter being served with concerns notices in January – the first step in a potential defamation claim. The concern is in relation to comments made by the premier and his wife in a joint statement following the Shuey review. 'This so-called report was commissioned by lawyers on behalf of their clients who are seeking money through the courts by suing their former lawyers. We did nothing wrong,' the couple said in a joint statement. 'This matter has already been comprehensively and independently investigated and closed by Victoria Police and integrity agencies. We will not dignify these appalling conspiracy theories by commenting further at this time.' Slater & Gordon has been contacted for comment.
Herald Sun
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Herald Sun
Cyclist Ryan Meuleman injured in Blairgowrie crash with Daniel Andrews pockets secret out-of-court settlement
The Herald Sun can reveal major law firm Slater & Gordon has agreed to hand over the massive payout to Ryan Meuleman just weeks before an explosive Supreme Court trial was due to begin. Ryan's lawyer, Marcus Clarke KC, confirmed a confidential settlement had been reached over the family's claim that the Labor-aligned law firm failed to act in his best interests in the aftermath of the crash. 'In the end he received an offer too good to refuse,' Mr Clarke said. 'I am pleased for Ryan. He now has closure in relation to his claim against Slater & Gordon.' But the 'bike boy' dispute is far from over, with the Meuleman family moving to pursue the former Victorian premier and his wife directly through the courts over the near-fatal 2013 crash. 'I've been telling the truth since I was 15 years old,' Ryan said. 'The people in the car are next. They shouldn't get away with lying either.' Ryan's father, Peter Meuleman, said: 'My son has been called a liar since he was a teenager. Can you imagine what that does to a boy? 'The truth will now come out in the lawsuits against Andrews and his wife for defamation. Ryan isn't stopping. 'Damning evidence has been covered up and ignored for a decade. It was always there to find.' Mr and Mrs Andrews were served with concerns notices in January - separate to the Slater & Gordon case - over statements they made following the release of a damning review of the crash conducted by the state's former Assistant Commissioner for Traffic and Operations Dr Raymond Shuey. The Shuey review found that the Andrews' Ford Territory was 'travelling at speed' – on the wrong side of the road – and that Victoria Police had engaged in 'an overt cover-up to avoid implicating a political figure in a life-threatening' incident. It concluded that the police investigation, which supported the Andrews' version of events, was 'deeply flawed', 'unfounded' and 'contrary to the available evidence'. In a joint statement issued after the release of Dr Shuey's review, the Andrews' said: 'This so-called report was commissioned by lawyers on behalf of their clients who are seeking money through the courts by suing their former lawyers. 'We are not a party to this legal action. We did nothing wrong. This matter has already been comprehensively and independently investigated and closed by Victoria Police and integrity agencies. 'We will not dignify these appalling conspiracy theories by commenting further at this time.' The Andrews' spoke out against the Meulemans for a second time last November after audio of the former premier's triple-zero call from the scene of the crash was released in which he tells an emergency services operator: 'we've hit him.' Ryan was 15 when he was hit by the Andrews' car in Blairgowrie in January 2013, suffering serious internal injuries. Slater & Gordon was accused of failing to conduct 'a full and proper investigation into the circumstances' of the collision and failing to act in Ryan's best interests and breaching its duty of care and obligations to him when negotiating his $80,000 TAC compensation payout. Ryan has always insisted that the car was 'speeding' and 'seemed to come out of nowhere' when he was hit 27m on from the Melbourne Rd and Ridley St intersection, contradicting the Andrews' claims they came to a 'complete stop' and 'turned right from a stationary position' just 'moments' before the collision. Police photographs uncovered by the Herald Sun in November 2022 showed extensive damage to the front of the Andrews' car and its windscreen. The Herald Sun later revealed an Ambulance Victoria report detailed how the Andrews' SUV 'struck' Ryan while 'travelling at 40 to 60kmph'. Dr Shuey's report concluded that 'the version (of events) as provided by Catherine and Daniel Andrews' was 'considered improbable and implausible' 'The truth is still outstanding. It is most probable that the vehicle undertook a sweep turn at speed, cutting the corner and still on the incorrect side of the roadway … when the collision occurred,' his review said. Catherine Andrews has always maintained that she was behind the wheel at the time of the crash, but was not breath tested. Ryan was represented by multiple law firms throughout the Supreme Court dispute, while top law firm Minter Ellison acted for Slater & Gordon. Read related topics: Daniel Andrews
