Psychological Injury Claims

Two sisters, were not physically injured in a rear-end car accident, have had their emotional injury compensation settlement approved at the Circuit Court. On 11th February 2016, the two sisters – aged six years and four years at the time of the accident – were travelling in the back seat of the family car being driven by their parents. Suddenly, it was rear-ended on the Newcastle Road in Lucan, Dublin. The  other driver admitted liability for causing the accident. The day after the accident, the two girls were brought to their family’s GP to be examined. Neither girl was diagnosed with physical injuries from the incident. However, within a few days of the accident occurring, the elder sister complained of having a persistent headache. Both sisters started showing symptoms of panic when large vehicles passed the car, fearful that a repeat incident would occur. Concerned, their parents brought them to seek medical advice. A further review of their condition resulted in both girls being diagnosed with “a mild effect on the mental health”. The elder sister was particularly affected by the accident, experiencing worry, and panic around large vehicles. She also hyperventilated while travelling in the family car, especially close to where the accident had occurred. Through their mother, they made an emotional injury compensation claim against the driver of the negligent vehicle. On the advice of the family’s solicitor, they accepted an offer of settlement amounting to €33,000. As the claim had been made on behalf of plaintiffs unable to represent themselves, the emotional injury compensation settlement had to be approved by a judge to ensure that it was in their best interests. The case was heard at the Circuit Civil Court in Dublin, by Mr Justice Raymond Groarke. The court was told the circumstances of the accident, the nature of the girls´ injuries and the fact that they had only missed one day from school as a result of the accident in order to be examined by the family GP. The judge also heard the girls´ mother was satisfied with the amount offered. Te judge was told that the emotional injury compensation settlement was to be divided equally between the sisters. Approving the settlement, Judge Groarke ordered that it be paid into court funds until the girls reach they reached eighteen years of age.

The High Court has awarded a woman who suffered a recurrence of childhood claustrophobia €25,060 compensation for being trapped in a shopping centre elevator. Fifty-four year old Marie Dicker – a department store supervisor from Walkinstown in Dublin – was visiting the Square Shopping Centre in Tallaght on August 31, 2012, when she took the elevator to travel down to the ground floor. Soon after the elevator started to descend, it suddenly stopped. Marie banged on the door and shouted for help after finding the elevator´s alarm button unresponsive. Eventually a security guard heard the noise and was able to release her. Although she had been trapped in the elevator for fewer than five minutes, the upsetting incident resulted in Marie suffering a recurrence of childhood claustrophobia. She was unable to go into rooms without leaving the door open behind her and had to remain close to the exit of any room she entered. Marie sought professional medical help and was diagnosed with an adjustment disorder, anxiety and depression. She then spoke with a solicitor and made a claim for compensation for being trapped in a shopping centre elevator against Square Management Ltd and Pickering Lifts Ltd. The two defendants admitted that there had been a breach in their duty of care, but contested how much compensation for being trapped in a shopping centre elevator Marie was claiming. The case consequently went to the High Court for an assessment of damages and was heard by Mr Justice Anthony Barr. At the hearing, Judge Barr was told that Marie has been under the care of a psychologist since the incident and has responded well to cognitive behaviour therapy. However, the defendants claimed that Marie showed no signs of anxiety when she was evaluated by a psychiatrist on their behalf. After being told that Marie´s treatment is expected to last a further twelve to eighteen months, Judge Barr said he was satisfied that the incident had caused a recurrence of Marie´s childhood claustrophobia and he awarded her €25,060 compensation for being trapped in a shopping centre elevator.

A passenger´s injury claim for a car crash in Antrim has been resolved following a hearing at the High Court in Belfast and an award of £464,655 compensation. In July 2012, 29-year-old Rosie Sands was a passenger in a friend´s car travelling along the A57 near Doagh in County Antrim, when the car was involved in a head-on collision with an oncoming jeep and trailer driven by Stephen Hamilton. Rosie´s friend – 21-year-old Michelle Hulford – was tragically killed in the accident, and the driver of the car and two further passengers were also injured. Rosie from Exmouth in Devon was taken to hospital with injuries to her back, abdomen and shoulder. Rosie returned to Exmouth on her release from hospital, but suffered from flashbacks and nightmares that prevented her from completing her honours degree at Bath Spa University and competing in the British Sailing Championships. She was subsequently diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and, after seeking legal advice, Rosie made an injury claim for the car crash in Antrim – seeking compensation for her personal injuries, her loss of earnings and the cost of her care and treatment. The driver of the jeep admitted liability for causing the accident, and the injury claim for a car crash in Antrim proceeded to the High Court in Belfast for the assessment of damages, where it was heard by Mr Justice Adrian Colton. At the hearing, Judge Colton heard how Rosie´s life had changed “irrevocably” due to the accident. Formerly a Gold Standard sailor, Rosie´s injuries now prevent her from competing competitively. She has also had to abandon a planned career in the RAF or Navy. Judge Colton said that the evidence Rosie had given in support of her injury claim for a car crash in Antrim had been “honest, understated, stoical and admirable”. He awarded Rosie £464,655 and wished her well for the future.

We have updated our medical negligence claims information page so that it is more comprehensive than ever before and offers advice on the procedures that need to be completed prior to claiming compensation for medical negligence in Ireland. As ever, the information we provide about medical negligence claims is no substitute for speaking directly with an experienced solicitor and, if you believe that you – or somebody close to you – has suffered a loss, an injury or the avoidable deterioration of an existing condition, which could have been prevented if you had received an acceptable standard of care, you are advised to discuss your individual situation with a solicitor without delay. You can visit our revised page containing medical negligence claims information by clicking on the link below: >> Medical Negligence Claims <<

The Finnish Government has started paying compensation for adverse reactions to the recipients of the swine flu vaccine Pandemrix who subsequently developed the sleeping disorder narcolepsy. The decision to compensate the families of children who contracted the condition was made after the National Institute for Health and Welfare produced a report in February 2011 concluding that an association existed between the vaccine against H1N1 swine flu and the diagnosis of narcolepsy in at least 50 children within an eight month period. To date, 92 people have made medical negligence claims for compensation from the 30 million Euro pool established by Finnish Medical Insurance but, as narcolepsy can be a lifelong condition which is passed on genetically to future generations, Kari Valimaki – the Finnish Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health – has stated that the fund to provide compensation for adverse reactions is unlikely to be insufficient, and that the State will have to step in when the pool is exhausted. The official reaction in Ireland – where 779 adverse reactions to Pandemrix were reported to the Irish Medicines Board between January 2010 and December 2011 – has been to wait until more research is concluded on the connection between the drug Pandemrix and narcolepsy. Health Minister, Dr James Reilly, responding to a question in the Dáil from Sinn Féin’s Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, stated that “no link has been established yet between the swine flu vaccine and narcolepsy, but the Government will endeavour to ensure all families [of children diagnosed with narcolepsy] get the medical and social supports they need”. More than 250,000 children in Ireland received the Pandemrix H1N1 swine flu vaccine before it was withdrawn from use on advice from the European Medicine Agency (EMA). The EMA´s own study of adverse reactions to Pandemrix in 2011 concluded that a child who had been vaccinated with Pandemrix had a six-to-thirteen fold increased risk of narcolepsy compared with children who did not receive the vaccine.

A pensioner from Dublin has been awarded psychological injury compensation for poor workmanship after builders made a catalogue of errors during renovations to her utility room. Mr Justice Matthew Deery at the Circuit Civil Court heard how Kathleen O’Leary (84), from Walkinstown in Dublin had contracted Cranlowe Ltd – building company with an address in Terenure, Dublin – to replace a utility room in her home to bring it up to date and provide additional security. However, shortly after Kathleen had paid the company 23,000 Euros for the work, the utility room flooded causing the electricity to short circuit due to the power supply not being earthed. Further investigations revealed that defective underground piping allowed waste water to leak directly into the soil below her home, no ventilation had been accounted for under the floor of the utility room and none of the walls had been insulated. A further seventeen examples of professional negligence were presented at the hearing, and the court heard that when Kathleen confronted Cranlowe Ltd with a list of the errors, the owner of the company had been abusive to her and made no attempt to remedy the problems. Judgement against the builders was awarded last year when no defence was offered, and Mr Justice Matthew Deery was told that the case was before him for assessment of damages. He awarded Kathleen 14,192 Euros in respect of what it would cost to correct the faults left behind by Cranlowe Ltd, with a further 3,500 Euros in psychological injury compensation for poor workmanship to account for the emotional stress she had experienced due to Cranlowe Ltd´s lack of care.

Costa Crociere SpA – the Italian arm of Carnival Cruises, and the company responsible for the stricken Costa Concordia cruise liner – has made an offer of trauma compensation for ship sinking to all the passengers of the Costa Concordia who were rescued from the ship without suffering physical injury. The 11,000 Euros offer of trauma compensation for ship sinking follows negotiation between the company and Italian consumer groups estimated to represent more than 3,000 passengers rescued from the ship after it hit a reef and capsized off the Italian island of Giglio on January 13 2012. The basic settlement compensates passengers for any psychological damage they have sustained and for the loss of personal effects. In addition, passengers will have the cost of their cruise refunded and any costs that were incurred in transportation home. Passengers who accept the trauma compensation for ship sinking offer will have to agree to drop all future legal claims against Costa Cruises and their associated companies and, in return, will receive their compensation within seven days. Children rescued uninjured from the Costa Concordia are also eligible for the compensation offer. Although passengers who sustained a physical injury will be dealt with individually, one consumer group is already suggesting that passengers decline the offer of trauma compensation for ship sinking. Their recommendations are to obtain a medical opinion to determine whether passengers have actually sustained a psychological trauma and, if so, seek professional legal advice from a compensation solicitor.

Three siblings of a girl, who was killed in a tragic bus accident in Dublin, have settled their claims for mental stress compensation against the bus company for undisclosed sums. It was alleged that the three siblings of Jennifer Hoban, who died in November 1997 when she was hit by a bus while crossing the Killinarden Way in Tallaght, each suffered a prolonged grief reaction to witnessing the accident. David Hoban (21), Kenneth Hoban (24) and sister Elaine Hoban (25) all claim to have suffered psychological injury and made a claim for mental stress compensation against Dublin Bus. Their settlements have been paid “without prejudice” – meaning that details of the compensation settlement can only be revealed if all parties agree.

Two children, who suffered an emotional trauma while on a family vacation in Lanzarote, are each to receive 6,500 Euros holiday compensation for psychological injury from the travel company through whom the family booked their holiday. The unnamed children were sleeping in their Los Orquideas apartment in Puerto del Carmen when intruders broke in at 3.00am. One of the intruders went into the children´s bedroom brandishing a long screwdriver and terrified the two children – who were aged eight and five at the time of the break-in in May 2002. The intruders escaped with 1,600 Euros in cash, 12,000 Euros worth of jewellery, passports and a credit card. The parents of the children claimed injury compensation from Budget Travel on the basis that the company had failed to provide them with secure accommodation and, in a separate hearing at the Killarney Circuit Court obtained holiday compensation for psychological injury of 28,400 for their own loss of property and emotional trauma. The compensation settlement for the two children was delayed to assess the extent of the psychological injury, but now their own settlements have been approved by a judge.

A widow and her two daughters have been awarded 250,000 Euros in compensation for nervous shock following the death of her husband in a tragic motorbike accident in Ireland. James Walsh from Clonmel, County Tipperary, lost control of his motorbike after taking evasive action to avoid a motorist emerging from a side road. James crashed and died from his injuries at the scene. At the High Court, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns heard that Catherine Walsh – wife of the deceased motorcyclist – arrived at the scene of her husband´s accident with her two daughters shortly after it occurred. Both Catherine and the two girls – who were aged fourteen and eight at the time – witnessed the events following the accident and suffered severe emotional trauma due to the distressing circumstances. Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns heard that an offer of compensation for nervous shock had be made to James´ dependants of 250,000 Euros and, due to the ages of the girls, the case was before him for approval.

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.