The High Court awarded Shannon Ryan €92,115.11 in damages for injuries sustained as a back-seat passenger in a collision on 26 December 2014. The award comprised €45,000 for pain and suffering to date, €45,000 for the future, and €2,115.11 in agreed special damages. Liability was not in issue.
Mr Justice Meenan delivered the judgment on 3 May 2019. Ryan was 16 at the time of the collision. She was taken by ambulance to University Hospital Limerick, where she was intubated for several hours. A CT scan showed no evidence of brain injury. Her reported injuries included neck and upper back pain, recurring headaches, and an abrasion to her right leg that healed with slight discolouration.
The principal medical dispute concerned prognosis. Ryan’s doctors described persistent neck and back pain, headaches occurring once or twice a week, dizziness and sensitivity to light. A consultant neurologist considered a full recovery very unlikely after more than four years without significant improvement in the headaches. A doctor who examined her for the defendant expected gradual improvement and full recovery within 12 months, based on an examination in March 2019.
The judge preferred the prognosis evidence of the neurologist and the orthopaedic surgeon who had reviewed Ryan repeatedly. He also found Ryan honest and truthful, noting that her ongoing symptoms were not all visible on scans. The court accepted that her injuries had ended her participation in camogie, curtailed her social life and probably contributed to underperformance in her Leaving Certificate examinations. She was, however, studying for a qualification in her chosen subject.
In assessing damages, the judge considered the plaintiff’s age, the injuries’ effects on her life and the uncertain future course of her symptoms. He described the prognosis as, at best, very guarded. The court also considered a visible blemish on her leg but treated it as cosmetic rather than a scar. The judgment concludes with a decree in Ryan’s favour for €92,115.11.