Injury Compensation News

A boy, who suffered severe physical and psychological injuries when a car he was travelling in was hit an uninsured driver, has been awarded injury compensation for a back seat passenger at the High Court.

Ben Conroy – a member of the senior Laois GAA hurling panel – was seated in the rear seat of a car which was struck from behind by another car attempting an overtaking manoeuvre on the Rushin Road in Mountrath, County Laois, on March 15th 2009.

As Ben was only 14 years of age at the time of the accident, he made a claim for back seat passenger injury compensation through his father, Ben Conroy Snr, against the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland (MIBI), as both the driver of the car which struck him and its owner were uninsured.

 Liability for Ben´s injuries was accepted by the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland, but the claim for injury compensation for a back seat passenger had to go to the High Court for the assessment of damages. After hearing evidence in relation to the nature of his injuries, Ben was awarded €20,600 by the court.

The total of Garda compensation for assault settlements paid in 2012 amounted to €6.7 million according to figures revealed under the Freedom of Information Act.

The figure brought the total value of Garda compensation for assault settlements since 2000 to over €13.4 million and, among the 121 cases detailed, the most common complaints were soft-tissue injuries, post-traumatic stress disorder and back injuries.

All the injuries sustained by Garda officers were as a result of malicious acts of violence and included a Garda who was struck on the head with a bottle, three cases where Gardai had suffered from depression after being threatened with shotguns and six incidents in which Gardai were injured by human bites.

The second highest ever award of Garda compensation for assault was made last year – a Garda receiving just under €790,000 for back injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder following an assault – but less than the €990,000 award made to a Garda who was shot in the knee in 2008.

Earlier this month, an award of €45,000 compensation for Garda injuries was made in the High Court to Garda Bernard McLoughlin, after he sustained injuries to his hip and leg after being involved in a ramming incident in which his friend and colleague was killed.

Commenting on the Garda compensation for assault settlements, John Parker – president of the Garda Representative Association – said “while the injuries contained in the Garda database were at the extreme end of the assaults suffered by Gardai during the course of their duties, they underlined the “high-risk work” of members of the force”.

Last year, the Government approved proposals for a revised Garda compensation scheme which would enable the State Claims Agency to administer the scheme on behalf of the Garda Commissioner. The proposals aim to reduce the length of time injured Gardai have to wait for Garda compensation for assault settlements and it is expected that the revised Garda compensation scheme will save the State about €3 million annually in reduced legal fees and administrative costs.

An award of compensation for Garda injuries has been made to an officer who suffered hip and leg injuries when his patrol car was rammed in a fatal accident.

Garda Bernard McLoughlin and colleague Garda Gary McLoughlin were involved in the accident in December 2009, when the patrol car in which they were travelling was rammed by a car driven by Martin McDermott, of Raphoe, County Donegal.

Garda Gary McLoughlin died from the injuries he sustained in the accident, while Garda Bernard McLoughlin was unable to continue his duties and has taken educational leave to study in Australia for the past three years. McDermott was sentenced to eight years imprisonment for manslaughter in July 2011.

At the High Court in Dublin, Ms Justice Mary Irvine heard how Garda Bernard McLoughlin of Buncrana, County Donegal, had found a pulse on his colleague after the accident and held his colleague´s head in a recovery position in their wrecked patrol car until emergency services arrived. However, his actions were not enough to save his friend´s life, and Garda Gary McLoughlin died several hours later in hospital.

Awarding Garda Bernard McLoughlin €45,000 compensation for Garda injuries, Ms Justice Irvine said the two officers who shared the same surname were more than colleagues. They had been close friends who had lived and trained together during their training at Templemore before working together in Buncrana.

A young girl, who suffered spinal injuries in a traffic accident which left her paralysed from the waist down, has had a settlement of compensation for a child passenger in a car crash approved at the High Court.

Britney Arendse (now 12) of Kells, County Meath, was returning from a day out on Bettystown Beach in June 2009 with her mother -Bridgitte – her mother´s friend and the friend´s two daughters, when a car being driven on the wrong side of the road collided with them.

Bridgitte Arendse – who was driving – and her four passengers had to be cut from the wreckage of the vehicle and were rushed to hospital, where Britney remained in a coma for three weeks before being transferred to Temple Street Children’s Hospital and then to the National Rehabilitation Unit in Dun Laoghaire.

After it was confirmed by doctors that Britney will be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life, Bridgitte Arendse made a claim for compensation for a child passenger in a car crash against the driver of the vehicle – Sean McKenna – and the owner of the vehicle – Patricia McKenna – both of Duleek, County Meath.

Liability was acknowledged for Britney´s injuries and a settlement of compensation for child passenger in car crash was agreed amounting to €3.9 million. As with all compensation settlements involving children, the settlement had first to be approved by a judge and, after hearing the circumstances of the accident and the injuries sustained by Britney, Mr Justice Kevin Cross approved the settlement at the High Court.

A former snowboard instructor, who suffered a traumatic brain injury after the intoxicated driver of the car he was a passenger in caused the vehicle to crash, has had the settlement of his compensation claim against the drunk driver approved in court.

Caimin Walsh (28) from Rathgar, County Dublin, was on his way back to his mother´s home in Birr, County Offaly, after attending an all-night party in June 2009. He and an American girl he had met at the party were met and offered a lift by Bernard Markey – also of Birr.

The High Court in Dublin heard that, as Bernard Markey was approaching Carrig, he lost control of the vehicle; it went over a hedge and into a field where it rolled over. Caimin was thrown 20 metres from the vehicle in the accident and sustained a serious brain injury.

The court was also told that Markey allegedly admitted to the Gardai while he was still trapped in the car that he was drunk, and a later reading showed he had a significant amount of alcohol in his system.

Due to the extent of his injuries, Caimin was unable to make a compensation claim against the drunk driver, and it was made on his behalf by his mother Olivia against Bernard Markey, the owner of the car Mary Markey and the Motor Insurers´ Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) as the Bernard Markey´s intoxication had voided the terms of his car insurance policy.

Liability was admitted for Caimin´s injuries and a settlement of the compensation claim against a drunk driver was agreed amounting to €1.75 million. Ms Justice Mary Irvine at the High Court approved the settlement, saying that if the case had gone to trial, there was the possibility it would be lost due to Caimin´s inability to recall the events of the accident, the fact that he had accepted a lift from a clearly drunk driver and there was a doubt over whether Caimin was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident.

A young girl, who was suffered severe physical and emotional trauma due to a crash in which her sister and best friend died, has been awarded €200,000 compensation for her injuries in the car accident.

Faith Varden-Carberry (12) who now lives in Tuam, County Galway, was just seven years of age when her mother Mary Carberry (36) crashed the car she was driving into a clay embankment outside Edgeworthstown, County Longford, in November 2007.

In the accident, Faith´s sister Ava (6) and her best friend Michaela Logan were both killed, and Faith´s injuries were so bad that she had underwent emergency treatment at the scene before being transferred to Our Lady´s Childrens Hospital in Crumlin – where she remained in a spinal cast for two months.

Faith´s mother – who was banned from driving at the time because of a previous accident – was found to be in excess of the legal alcohol limit, was arrested and sentenced to six years imprisonment for her part in the crash.

Faith went to live with her step-sister in Tuam when she was released from hospital, and made a claim for compensation for injuries in a car accident through her grand-father Anthony Carberry against both her mother and father – Thomas Varden – who was the legal owner of the car.

The claim against Thomas Varden was later dropped, , and – as Mrs Carberry was uninsured herself and banned from driving – the claim for compensation for injuries in a car accident was transferred to the Motor Insurers´ Bureau of Ireland (MIBI).

At the High Court, Mr Justice Peter Charleton was told that a settlement of compensation for injuries in a car accident had been agreed amounting to €200,000 and that the case was before him for approval of damages only.

Mr Justice Peter Charleton approved the settlement, and also allowed €2,000 to be instantly withdrawn from it in order to allow Faith to have a new computer to assist her with her schoolwork.

A District Court judge has declined a request to access court-held injury compensation, insisting that childrens compensation funds should not be used for family expenses.

Judge Mary Collins ruled that funds held by the court on behalf of four-year-old Oluwatimileyin Olaleye, who was awarded 4,500 Euros following a traffic accident in 2010, should not be released in order that the family could purchase a new car.

The boy’s father, Ibrahim Olaleye, from Lucan, County Dublin, had applied to court for the release of 1,500 Euros from his son’s award in order to buy a car for the family. However, Judge Mary Collins refused to release any money from the boy’s court account, saying that childrens compensation funds had never been meant for the purchase of a car or any other family expense.

Oluwatimileyin had been awarded the compensation last year for injuries he received in a car crash in which his mother, Veronica, had been the driver. The award of 4,500 Euros had been approved in court after a compensation claim had been by Oluwatimileyin through his father, but Judge Mary Collins said the money was to remain in court until Oluwatimileyin was 18; at which time it would be released to him with any interest gained.

The highest ever award of car crash injury compensation in Ireland was made this week to a boy who sustained devastating injuries while travelling as a passenger in a car driven by his mother.

Cullen Kennedy (10), of Loughrea, County Galway, was awarded 11.5 million Euros at the High Court in Dublin following an accident in May 2008 when he was thrown against the windscreen of his mother´s car – despite being secured in a bolster chair on the rear seat – and suffered such devastating injuries that he is now a quadriplegic and breathes through a ventilator.

Ms Justice Mary Irvine heard that on May 5th 2008, Cullen´s mother – Margaret – was momentarily distracted by her son and due to a “momentary lapse of concentration” wandered into the path of an oncoming car. Neither Margaret nor the driver of the other vehicle suffered any serious injury, but Cullen suffered severe spinal injuries which will confine him to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

As Margaret Cullen was an uninsured driver, a claim for car accidents without insurance compensation was made by Cullen´s grandmother on his behalf against the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland (MIBI). After assessing the care that Cullen had already received and what he made need for the future, an award of 11.5 million Euros was agreed which, although being a record for car crash injury compensation in Ireland, drew criticism from Ms Justice Mary Irvine.

Approving the lump sum payment, but condemning the lack of Periodic Payment Orders (PPOs), Ms Justice Mary Irvine said that the courts were gambling with the lives of those who had suffered catastrophic injuries. “The reality is the courts don’t know when people are going to die,” she said. “We are gambling every day.” Her comments were made in the context of an injured person living longer than anticipated by medical experts and running out of money to fund their care.

Ms Justice Mary Irvine noted that a working group on Periodic Payment Orders had been established in 2008, and had reported in October 2010 that legislation should be introduced to allow cases concerning a catastrophic injury to be settled on the basis of annual payments (PPOs). While Ms Justice Mary Irvine had “no doubt the Government has very significant issues to deal with” she said that the absence of legislation had left the courts guessing about the security, welfare and futures of the most vulnerable litigants.

A man, who suffered a severe brain trauma and now requires permanent care after being thrown from a car driven by an uninsured driver, has had his injury compensation claim against MIBI approved in court.

The man – who is a ward of court and cannot be named for legal reasons – was just 19 years of age when, in March 2008, he was a back seat passenger in a car which went out of control, left the road and ran into a tree. The victim, who was thrown from the car as it left the road, suffered a severe brain trauma which has left him requiring permanent nursing care and only able to communicate by means of thumb up or thumb down.

Ms Justice Mary Irvine at the High Court heard that the driver of the car had been uninsured, and that an injury compensation claim against the Motor Insurers´ Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) had been made. She also heard that an agreement had been reached between the man´s legal representatives and MIBI to award 4.25 million Euros to the victim – an amount which had been reduced by 20 per cent to account for the man´s contributory negligence of failing to wear a seatbelt.

The judge approved the settlement of the unnamed man´s injury compensation claim against MIBI, stating that it was an excellent settlement which would provide the car he required for the rest of his life. She also ordered that the foster mother who had been caring for the victim since his accident should receive an immediate lump sum payment of 544,800 Euros to cover the expenses and hospital bills she had already incurred.

Four children, who were passengers in a car accident when the vehicle driven by their mother was in collision with a Garda patrol car, have been awarded a total of 26,000 Euros in personal injury damages.

Dean McEvoy (15) and his three sisters, Lauren (13), Cody (11) and Megan (10), were travelling with their mother – Lorraine McEvoy of Crumlin, Dublin – when the accident occurred on the Tallaght bypass in November 2005.

Circuit Civil Court President, Mr Justice Matthew Deery, heard that the Garda patrol car that struck the McEvoy car was being driven “at some degree of urgency”, but without its siren or warning lights on.  Lorraine McEvoy and her four children all sustained soft tissue injuries as a result of the impact.

Mr Justice Matthew Deery also heard that the State had accepted liability for the accident only after a lengthy dispute was settled in the High Court and he was asked to approve agreed settlements of 6,000 Euros for Megan and Lauren, 6,500 Euros for Dean and 7,500 Euros for Cody who had been the worse injured of the child passengers in car accident.