Injury Compensation News

A woman who suffered a spinal injury after a bus in which she was a passenger drove over a speed ramp too quickly, has been awarded 121,493 Euros in personal injury damages.

Ciara Whelan (23) from Drumcondra, Dublin, was aboard a Dublin Bus being driven through the grounds of the Connolly Memorial Hospital in Blanchardstown in April 2006, when it hit a speed ramp too quickly and caused Ciara to hit her head severely on the roof of the bus.

After collapsing into a nearby seat, Ciara was unable to catch her breath or speak. Fortunately another passenger witnessed what had happened and alerted the bus driver who stopped the bus. An ambulance was summoned, and Ciara was admitted into the hospital where she was treated for a crush fracture of the L3 lumbar vertebra.

Mr Justice John Quirke at the High Court heard that Ciara remained in hospital for eight days, after which she was required to wear a neck brace for three months. Ciara told the court that she still suffers frequent back pain but it is controlled by anti-inflammatory drugs and ongoing physiotherapy. The court also heard that Dublin Bus had admitted liability for Ciara´s injuries and the case was before Mr Justice John Quirke for assessment of damages only.

Awarding Ciara 121,493 Euros in personal injury compensation, Judge Quirke said that it was established that Ciara had suffered a very serious injury which would cause her continuing pain and restriction of movement in the future.

Daryl Noonan, now aged 20 and originally from Navan, County Meath, has settled his High Court case against Bus Éireann for compensation for the post traumatic stress and depression following a school bus accident.

The school bus lost control and overturned on Kenstown Road, near Navan, in May 2005, resulting in the deaths of five schoolgirls. Mr. Noonan suffered minor injuries but heard screams before the crash and witnessed passengers with injuries following the accident. He was close friends with one of the fatal victims.

Mr. Noonan’s suffered nightmares and became anxious while travelling, his schoolwork deteriorated, he became uncommunicative, and family relationships deteriorated.

Mr. Noonan received counseling but eventually moved to Australia.

Bus Éireann admitted liability in the case. The amount of compensation was not revealed.

Megan Ledden, now aged 14 years, of Glasnevin, Dublin, has been awarded €20,000 damages in the Circuit Civil Court in a case against a minibus owner following an accident where she was struck in the head by a wing mirror.
The accident occurred on a pedestrian crossing on Old Finglas Road in March 2007. Ledden was knocked unconscious as she fell back and hit her head on the ground. Ledden suffered a laceration on the right side of her forehead and bruising on her right knee. The result was permanent faint scarring under the hairline on her forehead, although fortunately it is not visible.
Mr Justice Matthew Deery approved the settlement and also awarded legal costs.

Mr Justice John Quirke has ruled against a woman claiming €410,000 damages for loss of earnings arising from a whiplash injury claim, finding that it was “highly probably” that she gave misleading evidence regarding her injuries and capacity to work.  Mary Farrell of Finglas South, County Dublin was involved in a car accident with a bus belonging to Dublin Bus on June 14th 2004 at the junction of North Circular Road and Dorset Street.

Dublin Bus provided the court with videos of Ms. Farrell mowing the grass and emptying the grass box over a wall, repeatedly raising her arm in the process despite her injury the nature of her whiplash claims.

Dublin Bus also presented evidence of a comfortable lifestyle, including expensive cars and foreign holidays, that was inconsistent with claims of loss of earnings and future loss of earnings.

Dublin Bus asked Mr Justice Quirke to dismiss the claim under the provision of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 that allows for the dismissal of claims where a judge considers a claimant gave material misleading evidence to increase their compensation claim or in support of a false claim.

Mr. Justice Quirke cited multiple reasons for dismissing the case.

The simply lesson from this case is that while you can work with your solicitor to ensure that you present your case for compensation in the strongest possible manner, you should never exaggerate or even make misleading statements.

Three siblings of a 14-year-old girl, Jennifer Hoban, who died of injuries resulting from being struck by a bus, have accepted an undisclosed settlement from Dublin Bus.

Jennifer Hoban was struck by a bus while crossing Killinarden Way in Tallaght on November 5th, 1997 and died shortly afterward from her injuries.   Her two brothers and sister, who are now adults, suffered prolonged grief following the accident.   A case was taken against Dublin Bus through the children’s father, Thomas Hoban, for compensation damages for psychiatric injury.

Dublin Bus made the settlement without admitting liability.

Garreth Quinn of Clondalkin, County Dublin, has been awarded €25,000 in the Circuit Civil Court yesterday for a needle injury sustained on a bus seat. The incident happened in February 2005 when Quinn sat down on the 78A at the Liffey Valley Shopping Centre terminus, sustaining a needle injury to his leg from a syringe.  The bus driver immediately called an ambulance, which brought him to a hospital. Although tests on the syringe did not find any contamination, it was still deemed prudent to undergo blood tests and inoculations.  It took 3 years before it could be guaranteed that Quinn was not infected with hepatitis B or hepatitis C.

The bus accident claim was taken against Dublin Bus.  Judge Joseph Mathews found that visual inspections by Dublin Dub staff were not sufficient and that crevices in seats on buses should be probed for needles and syringes.  The injury compensation award consisted of €15,000 for suffering to date and €10,000 for future suffering.

The family of Maria Verdida, a nurse aged 52 at the time of her death in October 2003, has received €575,000 following an road traffic accident involving a bus.
The case for wrongful death was taken by the husband of the deceased nurse, Resituto Verdida, who has since moved back to the Philippines, against Dublin Bus and the bus driver. The defendants admitted full liability for the accident and the only question to be decided was the amount of compensation.
The bus driver, Frank Turner of Crumlin, Dublin, was driving at a safe speed but was temporarily blinded by strong sunlight and failed to react in time when the light at a pedestrian crossing changed to amber.  Mr Turner admitted fault in the accident and apologised to the family of Mrs Verdida. He was sentenced to a six-month suspended sentence, fined €500,  and banned from driving for four years.
The bus was not carrying any passengers – which would surely have resulted in claims for mental stress had they witnessed the very unfortunate accident.

Twelve Irish organisations have signed  the European Road Safety Charter in Dublin today. The European Union statistics for 2008 show that there were 1.3 million road traffic accidents, 39,000 road deaths, and 1.6 million injuries. It is estimated that road traffic injuries cost about 2% of European GDP.
The charter focuses on reducing the number of road traffic accidents in Europe with measures that improve vehicle safety, road infrastructure safety, and driver behaviour.
The twelve new Irish signatories of the European Road Safety Charter are Cavan Area Rural Transport, Community Transport Association of Ireland, Dún Laoghaire – Rathdown County Council, ECO Unesco, Headway Ireland, Irish Medical Organisation, Irish Road Haulage Association, Metroplex Ireland, Shell, The Irish Insurance Federation, Vantastic, and World Rally Team Ireland.