A woman from Dublin, whose arm was broken when a car reversed over her after she had slipped and fallen, has been awarded 79,000 Euros in compensation for hit and run injuries by Dublin´s High Court.
Siofra O´Loughlin (24) from Rolestown, Dublin, had been playing with friends on Dollymount Beach in July 2006, when she slipped on wet sand trying to retrieve a ball. While she was laying face down on the ground, a motorist reversed back over her – causing Siofra to sustain injuries to her upper arm and back.
According to the report Siofra and her friends gave the Gardai, the motorist stopped a short distance from where the accident had taken place, looked back at Siofra laying in agony on the ground, got back into his car and drove away. Siofra was tended at the scene for her injuries and then taken to hospital where it was discovered that her humerus bone was fractured and there were significant abrasions to her back.
As the driver of the vehicle was never traced, Siofra made a compensation claim for hit and run injuries to the Motor Insurers´ Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) – the organisation funded by the car insurance industry to provide personal injury compensation to victims of road traffic accidents in which the negligent party is either uninsured or unable to be traced.
The Motorist Insurers´ Bureau of Ireland contested Siofra´s claim for compensation for hit and run injuries – alleging that there had been a different version of events reported to the Gardai. However, Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O’Neill at the High Court is Dublin dismissed their claims and awarded Siofra 79,000 Euros in compensation for hit and run injuries – stating that he believed Siofra´s version of events as they had been presented in court.