The High Court awarded a stud farm owner €142,000 in damages after accepting his evidence that he was seriously injured in an assault at a Galway pub in 2017.
Mr Justice Barr delivered judgment on 21 February 2023, after the defendant failed to appear at the hearing in Galway the previous day. The court reviewed the steps taken to notify him and was satisfied he had full notice of the proceedings and the hearing. It therefore proceeded in his absence.
The plaintiff told the court that, on the evening of 27 October 2017, the defendant followed him into the toilets at Harney’s Bar in Tynagh, blocked the door and attacked him. He said the defendant kicked his left ankle, causing him to fall, then kicked his head and stamped on his leg. The court accepted the plaintiff’s account of what it described as a “vicious and terrifying assault”.
Medical evidence described a severe fracture of the left fibula and ankle. The plaintiff underwent surgery the following day and needed crutches and a walking boot, followed by extensive physiotherapy. He said he could not work for six months and remains restricted in riding horses because of reduced ankle movement. The court found that the injury caused lasting loss of function and range of movement, as well as a permanent surgical scar. It also accepted evidence of significant psychological injury and treatment, including cognitive behavioural therapy.
The court awarded €65,000 for the ankle injury and €30,000 for psychiatric injuries, totalling €95,000 for pain and suffering to date. It awarded a further €40,000 for future pain and suffering and disablement, accepting that the plaintiff would need surgery to remove a screw and was unlikely to regain full ankle movement. A further €7,000 was awarded for medical and treatment expenses, bringing the judgment to €142,000.
In assessing damages, the judge also considered the plaintiff’s claim for aggravated damages. The court took account of the intentional and unprovoked nature of the attack and accepted the plaintiff’s evidence that, after the defendant was convicted in the District Court and fined €750, he later smirked at him in a restaurant. The judgment does not state a separate aggravated-damages sum.