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 teenage girl, who tripped on a faultily repaired step outside her home, has accepted an offer of slip, trip and fall compensation from Dublin City Council amounting to 32,300 Euros.

Sarah O´Mahony (18) was just nine years of age when the accident happened in October 2002 outside of her residence in Dublin. Walking up the concrete steps to her home, Sarah tripped on a poorly repaired stair and fell – hitting her central incisors on a higher step and forcing the teeth back into her gum.

At the Dublin Circuit Civil Court, Circuit Court President Mr Justice Matthew Deery heard that Sarah´s original claim for slip, trip and fall compensation had been adjourned in 2006 because of a need to obtain further dental reports; however now the Injuries Board Ireland had assessed her claim at 32,300 Euros and Dublin City Council was in agreement with the figure.

Mr Justice Matthew Deery heard from Sarah´s legal council that she was also prepared to accept the assessment of slip, trip and fall compensation, and the judge agreed that it was in her best interests to accept the offer.

A woman who had to have both legs amputated due to alleged medical negligence has settled her failure to diagnose compensation claim against the doctor she accused of malpractice.

Catherine Blake (62) of Clonmel, County Tipperary, had alleged negligence and a breach in the doctor´s duty of care following an accident she had been involved in 1998. Two crates she had been seated on tipped over and Catherine had sustained injuries to her head and back.

She had attended Dr Gerard Sullivan at the Mary Street Medical Centre in Clonmel, County Tipperary in July 2000 complaining of pains in her legs and difficulty walking. It was claimed in Catherine´s compensation claim for late diagnosis that Dr Sullivan had ignored her complaints of symptoms which might have led the doctor to diagnose deep-vein thrombosis.

In September 2000, Dr Sullivan diagnosed that Catherine was suffering from thrombophlebitis, a vein inflammation due to a blood clot, but it was alleged in the failure to diagnose compensation claim that he failed to follow up his diagnosis with adequate treatment and continued to rule out the possibility of deep vein thrombosis. Catherine´s condition continued to deteriorate and she eventually had to have both legs amputated – allegedly due to Dr Sullivan´s failure to diagnose.

Dr Sullivan denied the claims but shortly before the trial was due to begin the High Court in Dublin heard that a settlement had been reached without admission of liability. No details were provided to the court about how much compensation Catherine was to receive.

A boy, who received permanent facial injuries when walking through an unmarked plate glass door while on holiday in Spain, has had the compensation award for his child accident claim approved in the Civil Circuit Court.

Hayden Carr (8) from Dublin was just six years of age when the accident happened while on holiday with his family at the Spanish resort of Salou. Going out onto the apartment balcony, Hayden failed to notice that the glass balcony door had been closed and walked straight into it, smashing the glass and receiving a terrible gash to his forehead.

The injury left a scar which will be Hayden for the rest of his life and, on their return to Dublin, Hayden´s parent sought legal advice about making a child accident claim for compensation against Budget Travel Ltd of Dublin – the agents through which the Carr´s had booked their holiday.

Showing evidence that the plate glass door had been unmarked in contravention of European law, the travel company´s insurers admitted liability for the injury and, as Circuit Court President Mr Justice Matthew Deery heard at the Dublin Circuit Civil Court, agreed a compensation payment of 17,500 Euros.

Mr Justice Matthew Deery approved the settlement, which will now be held in court funds until Hayden reaches the age of eighteen.

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.

A young boy, who was knocked down by a van as he played near his home, has had a car accident injury claim settlement of 17,500 Euros approved in the Circuit Civil Court.

Warren Lavelle (6) of Tallaght, Dublin, was hit by the van on July 13 2008, when he was only three years of age. He suffered head injuries as a result of the accident and has been left with a permanent scar on his head.

The driver of the van – John Connors, also of Tallaght, Dublin – admitted liability for the accident and, at the Circuit Civil Court in Dublin, Judge Jacqueline Linnane heard that the case was before her to approve the agreed settlement.

After noting that the scar was still visible, Judge Linnane approved the car accident injury claim settlement of 17,500 Euros.

A woman, who allegedly broke her nose in an accident with an automatic door at a wedding reception, has settled her personal injury claim against the hotel and the company who fitted the automatic doors for an undisclosed sum.  

Martina Fivey (41) of Mullingar, County Westmeath, had been attending her sister´s wedding reception at the Mullingar Park Hotel in February 2008 when the accident occurred. Martina had been stood in an open automatic doorway waiting for her husband to join her for a cigarette when one of the doors suddenly closed on her, striking her on the face and breaking her nose.

Judge Jacqueline Linnane heard at Dublin Circuit Civil Court that Martina has a history of nasal problems dating back to 2005 and she had to have the fracture manipulated back into place while under general anaesthetic. The court heard that for several weeks after, Martina´s face was black and blue from both the accident and the surgery and she had to apply a considerable amount of make-up to hide the evidence of her injury.

The two defendants in the case – Euro Plaza Hotels Ltd trading as Mullingar Park Hotel and Boon Edam Ireland Ltd – both denied the personal injury claim but, after hearing Martina´s testimony, Judge Jacqueline Linnane was told that the two parties had reached an undisclosed settlement and that the case could be struck out.

A four year old child, who sustained a burn injury to his foot in a medical accident when he was just a few days old, has had a compensation settlement of 10,500 Euros approved in the Circuit Civil Court.

Fabien Napierski of Kinlough, County Leitrim, was just four days of age when the medical accident occurred at his home in 2007. A nurse, who was warming his foot prior to conducting a blood test, used water from a recently boiled kettle without first testing its heat.

Circuit Court President, Mr Justice Matthew Deery, heard that the Health Service Executive had agreed to pay Fabien 10,500 Euros in compensation for the medical accident without admission of liability and the case was before him for approval of the settlement.

After hearing the facts of the claim, and considering the amount of the award, Mr Justice Matthew Deery approved the settlement as was presented to him.

Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar has announced that Road Traffic No 3 Bill will include a section that will allow Gardaí to conduct roadside drug driving impairment tests.

The Road Safety Authority has run several campaigns to increase the public awareness of the dangers of driving under the influence of drugs. Driving under the influence of drugs, both illegal or prescription, is already an offense. However, additional legislation is required to give Gardaí the right to require drivers to perform standardised impairment tests.

Gardaí are already being trained in the new roadside procedures by the Medical Bureau of Road Safety (MBRS). Drivers who fail the impairment tests will be arrested and brought to a Garda station.  Drivers under the influence of drugs suffer a variety of side effects, including slower reaction times, poor concentration, fatigue, confusion, distorted perception, over confidence, poor coordination, erratic behavior, nausea, hallucinations, blurred vision, aggression, panic attacks, paranoia, dizziness, and tremors. Gardaí have been trained to recognize the symptoms.

Regardless of the physical circumstances of a road traffic accident, liability for the accident will be clearly attributed to a driver under the influence of alcohol or drugs. If you have been in an accident and you suspect that the third party is under the influence of drugs, you should immediately call the Gardai and ask them to test the other driver.

The parents of a young woman who died after her doctor failed to recognise the symptoms of deep vein thrombosis have agreed to a 125,000 Euros settlement in their doctor negligence claim.

Ray and Angela Hennessy of Douglas, County Cork, had brought the action against Dr Hassan Al Bayyari of Castlenock, Dublin, following the death of their daughter Julie in March 2007. It was claimed in the case against Dr Bayyari that Julie had twice visited him in earlier in the month to complain of pains in her leg which she believed were due to a skiing accident four weeks previously.

Despite Julie raising the possibility of deep vein thrombosis, Dr Bayyari failed to prescribe any medication for the Hennessy´s daughter or refer her to the hospital for further tests. Two days after Julie´s second visit to Dr Bayyari´s surgery she was dead in her home in Blanchardstown. A post-mortem into Julie´s death revealed that Julie had died from deep vein thrombosis/pulmonary embolism, exacerbated by the oral contraceptive prescribed for her by Dr Bayyari.

After seeking legal advice, the Hennessy´s brought a doctor negligence claim against Dr Bayyari which was due to be heard in the High Court. However, shortly before the trial was due to commence, Mr Justice John Quirke was told that the two parties had agreed to the out-of-court settlement and that the matter was now resolved.