In the High Court, Mr Justice John Quirke claimed that he was unhappy with the system of compensation settlements when awarding more than 5 million Euros to Caroline Bogue of Belturbet, County Cavan, following an agreement between the claimant and the joint defendants – her cousin Ciaran Bogue and the Motor Insurance Board of Ireland (MIBI).
Stating that the money would be gone within 10 years, he criticised the lack of staged payments for awards of personal injury compensation and commented that the value of the settlement represented just 60% of what the claim was worth. His comments follow the case of Caroline, who suffered severe brain damage when an uninsured car, driven by the defendants brother, crashed into a tree just outside of her home town of Belturbet in May 2003. Despite wearing a seatbelt, Caroline – who was aged just 17 at the time of the accident – was admitted to Cavan Hospital where a CT scan of her brain showed she had suffered major haemorrhaging.
Now 24, Caroline needs assistance for daily living and feeding herself due to the consequences of her accident. She also experiences difficulty sleeping, has poor short-term memory and slow speech. Caroline will need permanent care throughout the rest of her life, and Mr Justice John Quirke is concerned that the settlement is insufficient for her lifetime and that she will become reliant on the State.
As it was alleged by the defence that Caroline knew that the car in which she was travelling was uninsured, Mr Justice John Quirke accepted that there was a risk that the claimant might be awarded less if the case went to a full hearing, and was guided by Caroline´s counsel. However, he commented that he was unhappy that he had to approve “a settlement so utterly speculative and imprecise from Caroline’s point of view”. A new system, which is due to be introduced in about 18 months time, will provide for continual payments over the period of the victim’s life.