Peter Meuleman: ‘Were they worried about Ryan or were they worried about Daniel Andrews?’

Mediation efforts have collapsed in a dispute involving Daniel and Catherine Andrews, a cyclist and a leading law firm, with the cyclist’s father declaring “I want all of this exposed in court”.

A car crash dispute involving former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews, his wife Catherine, a cyclist and a leading law firm is headed for trial after the collapse of mediation.

Major legal firm Slater & Gordon and lawyers for cyclist Ryan Meuleman, who was 15 when he was struck by the Andrews’ family SUV in Blairgowrie in January 2013, failed to resolve their long-running stoush at court-ordered mediation last week.

A Supreme Court trial is scheduled for May next year.

Ryan’s father, Peter Meuleman, said he could not discuss details of the mediation but maintained that Slater & Gordon had never been able to explain how it came to be involved in the case.

Peter Meuleman and his son Ryan. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

“Why did a Labor-aligned law firm suddenly turn up out of nowhere and want to act for my son?” he asked.

“I didn’t reach out to them and my ex-wife didn’t reach out to them. We both thought the other parent had signed up with them. But the fact is, they just turned up and acted like they were in charge. How did they get my mobile number? How did they get my name?”

Mr Meuleman said Slater & Gordon, which denies any wrongdoing, did everything it could “to keep the crash, and the subsequent TAC settlement, out of the media”.

“Were they worried about Ryan or were they worried about Daniel Andrews?” he said.

Daniel Andrews with his wife Catherine. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Mr Meuleman said the evidence at trial would show Slater & Gordon was working behind the family’s back in its negotiations with the TAC to keep Ryan’s crash settlement secret because of its “sensitive nature”.

“How was that in Ryan’s best interests?” he asked.

“Politics should have had nothing to do with this crash. Slater & Gordon should be ashamed of themselves. They thought we wouldn’t find any of this out. I want all of this exposed in court.”

Slater & Gordon is 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.

Slater & Gordon has been accused of working behind the family’s back in its negotiations with the TAC to keep Ryan’s crash settlement secret.

The Andrews have always maintained that their Ford Territory was “T-boned” by the bike, while Ryan insists that the car was “speeding” and “seemed to come out of nowhere” when he was struck 17m on from the Melbourne Rd-Ridley St intersection.

Police photographs uncovered by the Herald Sun in 2022 showed extensive damage to the front of the Andrews’ car and its windscreen.

In April last year, the Herald Sun revealed an Ambulance Victoria report detailed how the SUV “struck” Ryan while “travelling at 40 to 60km/h”.

A bombshell review of the crash conducted by the state’s former Assistant Commissioner for Traffic and Operations, Dr Raymond Shuey, found Victoria Police had engaged in “an overt cover-up to avoid implicating a political figure in a life-threatening” incident.

The damage to the front of the Andrews’ car and its windscreen.

Dr Shuey’s report, released three months ago, concluded that the police investigation was “deeply flawed”, “unfounded” and “contrary to the available evidence”.

“The version as provided by Catherine and Daniel Andrews is considered improbable and implausible,” Dr Shuey wrote.

“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 in Ridley St, 27 metres from Melbourne Rd when the collision occurred.”

The Andrews slammed Dr Shuey’s review, saying they would not dignify “these appalling conspiracy theories”.