Injury Compensation News

The construction industry is by its very nature one of the most dangerous work environments. Directors and managers of construction companies have a particularly difficult task compared with other industries that only involve, for example, office workers.  The court case this week related to the death Polish construction worker Czeslav Malinowski illustrates the challenges. Malinowski died following a fall on Roscommon town’s main street in April 2006.

Malinowski was employed by Owencrest Properties Ltd, directed by John Doyle, and working on a project by Roscommon Building Company Ltd, directed by Noel Doyle. The directors and companies pleaded guilty to various offenses under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 and were find 350,000 euro.

In a lesson to all employers, it was noted in court that the companies involved had good health and safety records and the directors were clearly distressed by the accident that resulted in the death of an employee.

Francesca De Cataldo, an Italian interior designer living in Killiney, County Dublin, has been awarded €12,240 in damages following a metal frying pan falling down a stairwell in the Avoca shop on Suffolk Street, Dubin in June 2005.

The only member of Avoca staff who was a witness had not seen the object falling. However, Circuit Court President Mr Justice Matthew Deery found Ms. De Cataldo’s testimony that she was hit by a frying pan credible.

Although there were no fractures or cuts, Ms De Cataldo testified that she suffered from headaches, stiffness in her neck and shoulders, light-headedness, feelings of nausea, vomiting, and sleeplessness.  The injuries and circumstances make it plausable that the victim has whiplash symptoms.

Daniel James O’Connell of Portlaoise, County Laois has secured a €300,000 in settlement from the Health Service Executive (HSE) of a High Court claim for alleged medical negligence in which his shoulder was damaged at birth.

The claim was against the Midland Health Board (now the HSE) and consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist John Conway.  O’Connell is 14 years old and was born in March 1995, which illustrates the time delay that is often associated with medical negligence claims because it is often necessary to determine the long term impact of any problems.

It should be noted that the settlement was without any admission of liability.  In fact, compared with some personal injury claims, it is fairly difficult to make a negligence claim for birth incidents because there is a natural level of risk involved.  The infant mortality rate in the Middle Ages in Europe prior to modern medicine was about 200 deaths per 1,000 live births.  The infant mortality rate in Ireland is less than 5 deaths per 1,000 live births, one of the lowest in the world.  Births are considered a ‘routine’ operation – and the standard procedures are extremely well defined.  But no matter how well the medical team performs, there are going to be a few dozen incidents in Ireland every year given the population size and birth rate.  The claimant typically needs to be able to prove that the medical team did not follow standard procedures and best practices or just made an obvious mistake.