Personal Injury Claims

A man who was jabbed by a syringe which had been discarded on a Dublin bus has been awarded 25,000 Euros in needle injury compensation after a hearing at Dublin´s Circuit Civil Court. Gareth Quinn of Clondalkin, County Dublin, was taking his seat on the 78A bus at the Liffey Valley Shopping Centre in February 2005 when he sustained a needle injury to his leg from a syringe which had left by the seat. When Gareth alerted the bus driver, an ambulance was immediately summoned which took him to hospital and the syringe was analysed for contamination. Although tests on the needle found no traces of hepatitis B or hepatitis C, Gareth underwent a series of blood tests for three years until it could be guaranteed that he was at no risk of infection. Gareth brought a claim for needle injury compensation against Dublin Bus, claiming that the bus company were negligent in failing to provide safe transportation for its customers. At the Dublin Circuit Civil Court, Judge Joseph Matthews agreed that visual inspection of the bus had been insufficient and awarded Gareth 15,000 Euros for the pain and inconvenience he had already suffered with a further 10,000 Euros for future suffering.

A promising young singer, whose career was terminated due to a horrific car crash, is to receive 3 million pounds in car crash passenger compensation after a settlement was agreed between his solicitors and insurers for the driver of the car in which he was travelling. Owen Griffin (26) from Waterford was the back seat passenger in a car travelling from Glasgow to Stranraer, when the driver was in a head-on collision with a motorcyclist. Both the motorcyclist and the driver´s five-year-old son were killed in the accident, while Owen suffered severe physical injuries and brain damage which left him in a coma for weeks. Owen still has no recollection of the accident and, in 2007, had to move into an assisted living scheme to receive the round-the-clock care and attention he needs. He was forced to abandon his career with the boy band Idolize as he can no longer sing due to the effects on his voice of a tracheotomy performed after the accident. Owen brought a car crash passenger compensation claim against the driver of the car but, because he was the injured passenger in an accident where the driver was from Northern Ireland, the case was due to be heard at the High Court in Belfast. However, shortly before the trial was due to commence, Mr Justice McLaughlin was told that the two sides had agreed a settlement figure and the case was to be struck.

A man, who sustained catastrophic spinal cord injuries after mistakenly diving into three and a half feet of water at a friend´s swimming pool, has been awarded over 4 million dollars in compensation for swimming pool injury by a jury in Cook County, Illinois. Don Duffy, an Irish immigrant, had never swum in an American pool before, and assumed that he was diving into the “deep” end. Unfortunately the pool at his friend´s home was shallow at both ends and deep in the middle, and Don – who was aged 22 at the time of his accident in July 2001 – suffered a spinal cord injury on impact with the floor of the pool which rendered him an incomplete quadriplegic. After seeking legal advice, Don made a swimming injury compensation claim against the pool liner maker Latham Plastic and pool installer Black Oak Pool and Supply. During the trial, the defendants alleged that Don had been drinking prior to the accident and should have assumed the risk of injury when diving into a pool without knowing how deep it was. After considering the legal arguments, the jury ruled in favour of the pool liner company but against Black Oak Pool and Supply. They decided that Don should be 50 per cent accountable for his injuries and therefore reduced a compensation for swimming pool injury settlement of over 8 million dollars to 4,051,200 dollars – the highest ever pool-related compensation settlement in Illinois.

A hospital porter, who claimed that he required surgery on his shoulder due to an injury sustained when he lifted a dead man from a hospital bed, has settled his lifting at work injury claim against the Adelaide and Meath Hospital in Tallaght. Austin Dowling (59) from Tallaght, County Dublin, alleged in an injury compensation claim that he suffered pain and loss of movement in his right shoulder following the accident in January 2005. The injury occurred, Austin claimed, as there was no proper equipment provided at the hospital for mortuary porters to slide a body onto a concealment trolley, and he had received no formal training on the use of the type of containment trolley that was being used. Austin also claimed that there was no safe system for his type of work implemented at the hospital and that the trolley he had been provided with was unsafe. The lifting at work injury claim was settled for an undisclosed sum without the need for the case to go to court and without an admission of liability from the hospital.

The Law Society of Northern Ireland has produced a report on “Third Party Capture” which condemns insurance company compensation tactics and calls for greater protection for victims of personal injury. The report, which focuses on approaches made to a potential claimant by insurances companies after one of their clients has been responsible for causing a personal injury, identifies specific issues which the public should be aware of:- Discouraging potential claimants from seeking a medical opinion Discouraging potential claimants from seeking professional legal advice Providing incorrect personal injury information to injured parties in respect of their legal rights Pressurising potential claimants to make decisions about accepting an offer of compensation before they know the full consequences of their injuries One positive result from insurance company compensation tactics is that many more claims are being resolved quicker, as the insurance companies have acknowledged their clients´ negligence and are more open to negotiating a settlement. Nonetheless, the report warns against victims settling a personal injury compensation claim without first getting a medical opinion, and recommends that claimants should also seek professional legal advice from a qualified personal injury solicitor.  

A man, who contracted the potentially life-threatening dysentery illness after eating at an all-inclusive resort on his honeymoon in 2004, has received compensation for holiday food poisoning from the travel company through which he booked the trip. Julian Hurley (50) from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, was staying on the Venezuelan island of Margarita when he ate food described as being of poor standard and contracted the illness. Due to a lack of medical facilities on the island, it was not until Julian returned home that he was treated for his condition. Julian was immediately admitted to Doncaster Royal Infirmary where he was treated for five days with antibiotics and he still suffers from the effects of his illness five years after his honeymoon. In his claim for public liability compensation against First Choice Holidays Julian provided medical evidence to show that he has irritable bowel syndrome, post-traumatic stress and chronic fatigue syndrome which are all attributable to being ill while on holiday. First Choice Holidays investigated the claim and, after negotiation with Julian´s legal representatives, settled out of court with compensation for holiday food poisoning of 286,500 pounds.

A court in Scotland has had to determine the settlement of compensation for accident with uninsured driver, after the representatives of a man who sustained brain injuries in a tragic accident could not reach an agreement with the Motor Insurers´ Bureau. Lord Woolman, at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, heard how Sean Milligan (44) spent 28 weeks in a brain injury rehabilitation unit after being involved in a van accident in May 2004. The driver of the stolen van which hit Sean´s Nissan Micra head-on had been banned from driving and was under the influence of alcohol when the accident happened. Despite his extended rehabilitation, Sean still suffers from bouts of anger and depression, and finds it difficult to concentrate, balance and walk. As the driver responsible for Sean´s injuries – Mark Lynch – was uninsured, a claim for compensation for accident with uninsured driver was made against the Motor Insurers´ Bureau. However, no agreement could be reached on how much compensation for accident with uninsured driver Sean should receive, and the case was before Lord Woolman for assessment of damages only. Announcing a decision to award 3.3 million pounds, Lord Woolman stated that the crash had devastating consequences for Sean which were “demonstrated by the fact that he requires round-the-clock care, seven days a week”.

A woman, who fell in the smoking area of her local pub due to the heel of her stiletto shoe snagging on a damaged floor, has settled her trip in pub compensation claim with the bar´s insurers for 18,000 pounds. Selena Gilder (40) from Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, had just finished a cigarette in the smoking area of the town´s Albion Pub in April 2007, and was returning to her seat in the main area of the pub, when the heel of her shoe got caught in broken concrete. She tripped and then fell, smashing her knee, breaking her leg and sustaining severe scar injuries. Selena had to undergo three operations to repair the damaged knee and missed eight months from work due to her injuries. During this time she suffered financial hardship as well as the pain from her broken leg. After seeking advice from a personal injury solicitor, Selena made a tripped in pub compensation claim, stating that she fell due to the state of the floor which she may have been able to avoid had the lighting not been so poor. The pub´s insurers agreed to settle the claim for 18,000 pounds once they had seen Selena´s medical records.

The driver of the London Underground train on which Jean Charles de Menezes was mistakenly shot dead has been awarded 1,000 pounds in damages for severe emotional trauma by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). Quincy Oji was the driver of the Northern Line train in July 2005 which was boarded by police in pursuit of the suspected suicide bomber and, as the unfortunate shooting took place, Quincy fled from his cab and ran into the tunnel. The CICA tribunal heard that Quincy was chased by armed police and in his panic tripped and fell to the ground. Following the incident, Quincy was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and had to take a considerable amount of time off from his job before he was passed fit to continue driving trains. Quincy´s original claim for damages for severe emotional trauma was rejected on the grounds that he was some distance from the shooting but, after seeking legal advice, Quincy appealed against the decision and, almost four years after the fateful incident in Stockwell Underground Station, was awarded personal injury damages amounting to 1,000 pounds.