Injury Compensation News

The family of a man, who was tragically crushed to death between two diggers in a workplace accident, is to receive 550,000 Euros wrongful death at work compensation from the man´s former employers.

Ronan Conway (27) died after leaving the cab of his vehicle to investigate something in the ground in front of where he was working. Unfortunately he had failed to lock the safety lever on the digger before leaving the vehicle and was crushed between his digger and another working on the site.

Following an investigation into the fatal accident of November 2008, Ronan´s fiancée of eight years Anne Marie Morgan (30) of Kilcullen, County Wicklow, claimed wrongful death at work compensation from Ronan´s former employers – OB Hire and Sales Limited – alleging that they were responsible for Ronan´s fatal accident due to allowing him to work in a yard which had “little or no lighting”.

OB Hire and Sales Limited denied the allegations – claiming that Ronan had failed to follow the training he had been given in the operation of the digger and that it was his own negligence which led to his fatal accident.

However, at Dublin High Court, Mr Justice John Quirke heard that the company had made an offer to settle the claim for wrongful death at work compensation which the family were prepared to accept. The total amount of compensation had been reduced to account for Ronan´s contributory negligence and was to be divided between the claimant, Ronan´s parents and siblings, and the children both Ronan and Ms Morgan had from their previous relationships.

A former Ryanair baggage handler has been awarded €45,000 compensation for a work back injury.  Damian Warcaba of Malahide, County Dublin, was injured in an incident at Dublin Airport on July 17th, 2007, while moving aircraft stairs unassisted.  Mr Warcaba was brought to to Beaumont Hospital and was out of work for two months.

The standard operating procedure requires two people to manoeuvre aircraft stairs manually for about three metres to rest against an aircraft. Ryanair contested the case, saying that it provided standard training to employees and regretted that the standard operating procedures where not adhered to in practice. Ryanair pointed out that Mr Warcarba had breached the standard operating procedures and was therefore solely responsible for his work back injury.

Mr Justice Peter Charleton ruled in the High Court that Ryanair did not provide sufficient workers to ensure the correct operating procedures were followed.

The family of a Lithuanian man, who was crushed to death by a forklift while working in a lighting store in County Wexford, has been awarded 349,600 Euros for his wrongful death in the High Court.

Rimydas Valteras of New Ross, County Wexford, was employed at Harte Designs of Adamstown, County Wexford when, in April 2006 he the fatal accident occurred. Rimydas had been standing on a forklift operated by fellow employee Emmet Delany, when it crashed into shelving causing him to sustain fatal crush injuries which resulted in his death.

Mr Justice John Quirke heard at the High Court that the accident occurred just two weeks after Rimydas´ wife, Rasa, had purchased tickets for herself and their two young children to fly to Ireland to establish a new life together, and that the two defendants – Emmet Delany and Harte Designs – both accepted liability in Rasa´s forklift accident claim for compensation.

Calculating that Rimydas would have earned between 400.00 and 500.00 Euros per week had his employment continued, Mr Justice John Quirke awarded Rasa and her family the sum of 325,000 Euros with an additional 24,600 Euros to compensate for the mental distress she had suffered.

A Garda office, who sustained a shoulder injury during baton training, has been awarded personal injury compensation of 22,600 Euros in the Circuit Civil Court.

Circuit Court President, Mr Justice Matthew Deery, heard that Detective Garda Darragh O´Toole (41) had been part of a group taking part in baton training at the Mount Pleasant Tennis Club in Dublin in October 2008, when the injury occurred.

Detective Garda O´Toole was in a staged fight scenario with an instructor, when the instructor put his left arm in a lock and forced him back against a wall. Mr Justice Matthew Deery was then told how the instructor had continued pressing forward while Detective Garda O´Toole was pinned back – dislocating the Garda´s shoulder through the back of the joint. The injury was so severe that Detective Garda O´Toole was off from work for 14 weeks.

Having sought legal advice, Detective Garda O´Toole brought a personal injury claim for compensation against the instructor and the Minister for Justice, claiming that he still suffered pain and discomfort, and that the injury had prevented him from playing as a senior footballer for  Erin’s Isle GAA club in Finglas, Dublin.

Having rejected evidence from the defence which was contradicted by the medical evidence, Mr Justice Matthew Deery awarded the detective 22,650 Euros in damages against the Minister for Justice, commenting that the instructor should have eased off when Detective Garda O´Toole had been backed up against the wall.

A postal worker, who damaged the big toe on his right foot when a package of floorboards fell onto it, has won his claim for injuries at work at the Circuit Court in Dublin.

Edward Pyne (61) of Balbriggan, County Dublin, brought his claim against An Post after the accident in November 2006 left him needing several operations for an ingrown toenail which had resulted from the injury. He also claimed that he had suffered from several infections which had developed in the injured toe.

Circuit Court president, Mr Justice Matthew Deery heard how An Post should have supplied steel toe-capped boots as part of a postal worker´s uniform, but Edward had long worn out the pair that had been most recently given to him three years previously. Consequently the shoes he was wearing on the day of the accident offered insufficient protection against such an accident happening.

An Post denied liability for Edward´s claim, but Mr Matthew Deery heard evidence that many of Edward´s colleagues at the Balbriggan Post Office also failed to wear the obligatory steel toe-capped footwear, and had An Post provided better supervision of their staff, the accident could have been avoided.

Upholding Edward´s claim for injuries at work, Mr Justice Matthew Deery stated that he was satisfied that An Post had failed to provide adequate protective footwear for their staff, and awarded Edward 16,000 Euros in personal injury compensation.

A report published this week by the Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC) has revealed that absenteeism is costing the country 1.5 billion Euros each year in lost productivity.

The findings were based on a survey conducted in 2010 in which absenteeism levels in 2009 were examined across 635 companies employing a total of 110,000 people.  It was estimated in the report that 11 million working days were lost annually due to “unplanned” sick days although the report gave no indication of how many of these were due to accidents in the workplace and work illnesses.

Defining absenteeism as an “unscheduled disruption of the work process due to days lost as a result of sickness or any other cause not excused through statutory entitlements or company approval”, the report revealed that high-pressure rewards driven call centres recorded the highest absence rate (3.67%), while software companies had the lowest rates of absenteeism (1.56%). It also cited the main reason given for absence from work was minor illnesses.

However, the figures are much higher than those issued each year by the Health Safety Authority (HSA) in their annual “Summary of Workplace Injury” which, although a more accurate reflection of occupational health in Ireland (the IBEC conclusions were drawn by studying less than one half of one per cent of the workforce), are reliant on employers reporting work injury and illnesses of four or more days to the HSA.

The wide difference between the HSA figures and those estimated by IBEC could be due to an employer´s reluctance to report injuries and illness caused by their negligence. Although claims for injuries at work are declining in the farming and construction industries, those related to falls at work and repetitive strain injuries are on the increase, and if an employer reports injuries which are due to his breach of health and safety regulations, he could be inviting a visit from HSA investigators.

The publication of the report also coincides with a similar Health and Safety Executive release in the UK, which estimated that 560,000 employees in England and Wales took a total of 13.4 million days off last year due to stress in the workplace. Proportionately, it would appear that the situation is far worse in the Republic.

A 22 year old woman, who contracted a rare disease while working in a Limerick pet shop, has been awarded what is believed to be the highest ever structured compensation settlement in a High Court personal injuries action.

Patricia Ingle from Weston, County Limerick, worked throughout 2007 and 2008 at the Petmania Pet Store in the Jetlands Retail Park, County Limerick. In August 2008, she fell ill with violent headaches and vomiting, was attended by a doctor and sent to the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Dooradoyle.

Doctors at the hospital treated Patricia and sent her home, but a few weeks later the symptoms returned and she was again sent to hospital by her GP. Within two days, Patricia´s condition had deteriorated to such an extent that she was technically voiceless, had difficulty swallowing, suffered from blurred vision and could not move.

Patricia had suffered irreversible brain damage and can now only breathe through a ventilator, has to be fed via a tube and can only communicate by using a voice-box. She is confined to a wheelchair and is an inpatient each night at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital.

Claiming that she had contracted the chlamydia psittacosis infection from a cockatiel parrot purchased by the pet store, Patricia sued Petmania and their parent company O’Keeffes of Kilkenny Limited, Springhill, County Kilkenny. She also alleged that her condition had been mismanaged by the hospital, and claimed that, had doctors recognised that she needed an examination by a neurologist, she could have been transferred to Cork Hospital earlier for specialist treatment.

Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O’Neill at the High Court heard how chlamydia psittacosis can be passed from parrots to humans through inhalation of airborne dried faeces dust, and that Patricia had never received any health and safety training throughout her employment at Petmania.

He also heard expert testimony to state that the single most significant risk of working in a pet store was the risk of contracting an infectious disease, yet because of the animals´ low value, pets at Petmania were never screened or treated against the potentially fatal diseases.

In respect of the action against the Health Service Executive (HSE), the court heard that doctors at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital had watched Patricia´s condition deteriorate for 58 hours before transferring her to Cork Hospital, even though they were aware that she worked in a pet shop due to a previous hospital attendance when she was bitten by a rat.

It was claimed that had there been a proper recognition of her symptoms, some, if not all of her current condition would have been avoided.

Although the case was anticipated to last for several weeks, protracted talks on the fourth day of court proceedings resulted in the HSE agreeing to settle the claim, and pursuing Patricia´s claims against the other defendants.

The settlement package consists of 3 million Euros to be paid to Patricia immediately in respect of her injuries, with further lifetime payments to be considered in two years time once new legislation is in place to facilitate structured payments.

The health Service Executive have estimated that it currently costs around 500,000 Euros to provide Patricia with the treatment she needs, so the total compensation package is likely to exceed the record High Court award of 7.5 million Euros paid to a child who sustained cerebral palsy at birth.

A young female Garda has been commended in the High Court for her bravery and awarded 60,000 Euros for injuries she sustained in the apprehension of an aggressive man in June 2000.

Garda Martina Gallagher (38) of Castleblayney, County Monaghan, was just 27 years of age when she had been called to an incident in Grafton Street, Dublin, where a man had thrown a bottle at members of the public.

As she tried to apprehend the man, she was struck on her left side – leaving her with an injury that had caused her severe pain in her ribs and abdomen, with shooting pains into her leg. Despite having physiotherapy for two years, Martina had difficulties with three pregnancies in subsequent years and experienced pain when lifting them after they were born.

Making the award in the High Court, Ms Justice Mary Irvine heard that the reason for the long delay between the injury and the hearing was due to an ongoing investigation into the effects of her injuries during the three pregnancies. All three children had to be delivered by Caesarean section and Martina still has to maintain a home exercise program to keep the pain from her injuries under control.

Describing Martina as “very brave”, the judge awarded her 59,530 Euros in Garda compensation.

A former Garda, who sustained neck and arm injuries in the apprehension of a motorbike thief, has been awarded 40,000 Euros in Garda compensation at the High Court.

Eamonn Fitzgerald (59) of Cork, told the Ms Justice Mary Irvine at the High Court how he and a Garda colleague were attempting to arrest a man who had admitted possession of a stolen motorbike when the incident happened in July 2001.

The court heard how the thief had pinned Eamonn´s colleague to the floor and, as Eamonn tried to pull the crook away, he was tossed martial arts style head-over-heels onto some concrete steps.

Eamonn landed awkwardly, damaging his neck and left arm and shoulder, and spent a full week in hospital recovering from his injuries. He also missed work for a period of six weeks.

Ms Justice Mary Irvine awarded Eamonn just over 40,000 Euros in Garda compensation for his injuries – damages which will be paid by the Minister for Finance.

The widow of a peace-keeping soldier, who was killed in a landmine explosion more than twenty years ago, has had a compensation settlement of 300,000 Euros approved in the High Court. Private Maddix Armstrong (26) was killed, along with two other Irish U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeepers, when a landmine exploded alongside their truck on March 21 1989 near the town of Brashit in South Lebanon.
Maddix´s widow, Grainne, sued the State and Minister for Defence, alleging that the State had failed in its responsibility to take all reasonable precautions for the safety of Private Armstrong and his colleagues while they were engaged in their duties.
It was claimed in the action that the peace-keepers had been required to drive the truck in an area where there was an ever-present danger of landmines without remote-sensing equipment and with no search conducted for landmines ahead of the truck.
In April of this year, Defence Minister Alan Shatter announced that a review of the three soldiers´ deaths was to be conducted by senior counsel, Frank Callanan. The results of that review are not due until August 19, but Ms Justice Mary Irvine at the High Court heard that the State was prepared to make an offer of 300,000 Euros now to avoid a full hearing during which there would be evidential difficulties. Approving the award, Ms Justice Mary Irvine stated that these were “hard, sad cases” and with such a difficult claim to determine, Grainne Armstrong was right to accept the offer that had been made to her.