Injury Compensation News

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.

A Garda officer, who was injured trying to disarm a crazed knifeman, has been awarded 100,000 Euros for the physical and psychological injuries he received during his attempted heroism.
Ms Justice Mary Irvine at the High Court heard how Sergeant John Liston (55) of Mallow, County Cork, and two Garda colleagues had tried to disarm a knife wielding Fermoy man on New Year’s Eve 2006.
The man, whose father was known to Sgt. Liston, had earlier been involved in light-hearted conversation with the Garda officers but, after being refused entry to one of the city’s nightclubs, had produced two knives and started acting in a very menacing way.
Sgt. Liston and his colleagues confronted the man in McCurtain Street and tried to overpower him as he removed his overcoat. During the attempt, Sgt. Liston was stabbed in the side and had to undergo surgery for his injuries. It was while the officer was in Cork Hospital that he discovered that the man had turned the knives on himself and committed suicide.
Sgt. Liston was awarded an excellence award for his bravery and the way in which he had dealt with the incident, but in court broke down several times as he tried to explain how he had been unable to prevent the man from killing himself. The court heard that the post traumatic stress disorder suffered by Sgt. Liston had caused him many sleepless nights and that he still had flashbacks to the incident.
Ms Justice Mary Irvine awarded Sgt Liston 100,000 Euros for general damages and a further 6,400 Euros to cover special damages and costs.

A female bus driver, who had to take early retirement due to slipping and falling on the bus company’s stairwell, has been awarded 553,000 Euros in personal injury compensation. Susan Conaty (52), of Arklow, County Wicklow, was taking a rest break from her driving duties at the Dublin Bus Donnybrook depot in December 2003, when she slipped walking up the stairwell which led to the canteen. She subsequently fell eight to ten steps and landed upside down – suffering severe personal injuries that were made worse by an existing back condition.
Mr Justice Iarhflaith O’Neill in the High Court heard that Ms Conaty had tried to return to work after the accident, but had to take early retirement in 2006 because of her injuries. Ms Conaty filed a claim for personal injury compensation against Dublin Bus because, she claimed, they had not provided her with a safe environment in which to work.
The court heard that Dublin Bus had permitted the unsafe practice of allowing drinks to be taken from the canteen, and that this had lead to liquid being spilt on the landing area which had a slippery vinyl surface. Mr Justice Iarhflaith O’Neill found that Dublin Bus had failed in its duty to provide Ms Conaty with a safe place in which to work and awarded damages of 553,000 Euros.

A Tesco’s security guard, who suffered post traumatic stress after being trapped in a lift at their Dundrum Shopping Centre Store in Dublin, has been awarded 13,500 Euros in a court action against the company.
Judge Joseph Matthews heard in the Circuit Civil Court how William Murphy (27) of Ashford, County Wicklow, had been one of a number of people trapped between floors in a lift for almost an hour in September 2006.
Due to the lack of oxygen, heat and humidity, Mr Murphy had been overcome with fear while awaiting rescue by the fire service, and had subsequently been off from work with a stress related illness for several weeks. Mr Murphy still experiences feelings of panic when in lifts and confined spaces.
In the action brought against Tesco Ireland Ltd and Byrne Lifts Ltd, Millennium Business Park, Dublin, the court heard that once the doors of the lift had closed, the lift dropped suddenly and then jerked to a stop – trapping the group of people inside for between 45 and 60 minutes.
Judge Matthews found in favour of the claimant, stating that he was satisfied that the lift had not been overloaded and that the problem had been caused by over-speeding. He accepted that over-heating in the hydraulic system had triggered an emergency safety cut-out, and that the accident could have been prevented with the implementation of a cooling system.

Internal documents from the Department of Defence have revealed that almost 6 million Euros is being set aside to compensate members of the defence forces in personal injury claims.
The substantial increase, from the 4.1 million Euros which was paid out last year, is due to an anticipated increase in the number of claims from soldiers who were exposed to the controversial anti-malaria drug, Larium.
The department is already aware of at least 10 cases where members of the defence forces have claimed they developed serious side effects as a consequence of taking the drug, and the extra provision in their budget is to account for any new personal injury compensation claims deriving from soldiers who recently served in Chad or the Central African Republic.
The Department of Defence has also factored into their compensation budget an allocation for post traumatic stress disorder as well as an increase for the most common types of compensation claim – personal injuries arising from traffic accidents, occupational personal injuries, and administrative law cases in areas such as promotion and disciplinary action.
The Statute of Limitations applies to member of the defence forces in the same way as the general public, and soldiers have two years from the date of knowledge of an injury in which to make a claim for personal injury compensation.

A truck driver, who sustained serious facial injuries when he was struck by a steel wedge, has been awarded 80,000 Euros by the High Court. Mr Justice John MacMenamin heard how Keith Dowling (38) of Kildangan, County Kildare, was almost decapitated as a steel wedge, being used to secure the ballast weight on his trailer, shot from its mounting causing permanent damage to Mr. Dowling’s face. The wedge, which measured 14 inches by 6 inches, was being hammered in place by a co-worker when the accident happened.

A cattle drover, who suffered serious injuries after being kicked by a bullock, is to receive damages from his employer after the Supreme Court ruled that the employer had placed the injured employee at risk.
Mr. Patrick Lynch (53) of Crubany, County Cavan, had been one of a team of three cattle drovers who were employed by Cavan Co-op Mart in October 2003 to herd cattle from a pen in the mart yard to a dividing pen prior to their entering the sales ring.
However, on the day on which Mr. Lynch sustained his injuries, his two companions had absented themselves temporarily, and it was claimed in court that Mr. Lynch had to perform the two absent drovers’ tasks, as well as his own, which required him to enter the individual pens while they were occupied by animals.
As Mr. Lynch was moving through the animal pen to open a gate, the court heard how a Limousin bullock delivered a direct kick to Mr. Lynch’s groin, causing significant trauma to the scrotum and giving rise to a haemorrhage which caused damage to his right testis. Mr. Lynch was subsequently taken to Cavan Hospital for treatment.
The court ruled that, although a safe procedure of work was in place when three drovers were present, there was no system of supervision by the employer. As the improper absence of the other two drovers exposed Mr. Lynch to danger, Cavan Co-op Mart was liable for his injuries.
The case has now been referred to the High Court for the assessment of damages.

A teenager who sustained an eye injury when his eye was impaled on an exposed milking machine hook is to receive 110,000 Euros in compensation. Mr. Justice John Quirke heard at the High Court how David Booth, 17, of Stradbally, County Laois was just eight years of age when he sustained the horrific injury in the milking parlour at his family’s farm in April 2002.
Although David has no recollection of the events leading up to the accident, it was claimed that the defendants – Senior Milking Machine Company Ltd and Stradbally Farm Services Ltd, both of Stradbally, County Laois – were negligent on the grounds that the milking machine was not designed and constructed to a safe standard.
The defendant denied the claim, brought on David’s behalf through his elder sister Elaine, and also that they permitted an exposed hook to be present on the machine with no consideration of the hazard it presented. The settlement was approved by Mr Justice John Quirke without admission of liability.