The High Court has awarded €160,968 to a motorist injured in a 2014 head-on collision on the Caherciveen to Killorglin road in County Kerry, finding that the lorry driver caused the crash through his position on the road and use of full headlights and cab roof lights.
In a judgment delivered on 24 January 2020, Mr Justice Barr found that the plaintiff was not travelling at an excessive speed and was on his correct side when the defendant first saw him. The court accepted that the plaintiff was travelling at about 75km/h and the lorry driver at about 30–40km/h, slowing to about 20km/h at impact.
The plaintiff said he came around a bend to a “wall of light” and was dazzled before his car crossed onto the wrong side and hit the lorry. The defendant said the plaintiff lost control while travelling too fast and veered into his lane. The court found that the collision happened on the defendant’s side of the road. It also found that the lorry was partly on the wrong side: photographs showed the trailer over the centre line, and the court concluded the cab was also across it at impact. The lorry had been further onto the wrong side in the seconds before the collision, the judge found.
The court accepted evidence that full headlights and cab roof lights, reflected from the wet road, could dazzle and disorient an oncoming driver. It found this was the most likely explanation for the plaintiff’s car crossing the road. A motorist who arrived after the crash supported the plaintiff’s account that the cab lights were on at the scene. The court accepted his evidence despite a solicitor’s note recording that he had earlier said he had not noticed the truck’s lights.
The judge found the accident was caused by the defendant’s negligence in driving partly on the wrong side and using the full headlights and roof lights when it was unsafe. No contributory negligence was found against the plaintiff.
The plaintiff suffered a fractured left kneecap and right collarbone, as well as abrasions and soft tissue injuries. The knee required surgery and further procedures. The court heard he continued to have pain and difficulty kneeling, which prevented him from pursuing work as an electrician; he could do some farm work. Medical evidence said he was at risk of developing post-traumatic arthritis in the knee.
The award comprised €85,000 for pain and suffering to date, €70,000 for future pain and suffering, and €5,968 in agreed special damages. The judgment determined liability and damages in the action and awarded the total sum of €160,968.