The High Court awarded Garda Ronan Leonard €8,000 in general damages and €60 in special damages for a soft tissue injury to his left shoulder sustained while on duty. The award followed a hearing under the Garda Compensation Acts. The court did not award the approximately €20,000 sought by his counsel.
Mr Justice Twomey said the special damages covered agreed out-of-pocket medical expenses for GP visits. The court concluded that €8,000 was fair to both the applicant and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, the respondent.
Leonard injured his shoulder in a fall on 11 July 2014 while chasing a suspect attempting to evade arrest. He was seen by an out-of-hours GP and then referred to a hospital emergency department, where X-rays showed no fracture. He was discharged with painkillers and anti-inflammatory medication. He took about five days of sick leave before returning to normal duties.
He attended his GP again on 21 July because of ongoing pain. The GP diagnosed a sprain to the left acromioclavicular joint and treated it with a steroid injection, repeated in October, as well as anti-inflammatory medication. The medical evidence before the court was that treatment ended then and Leonard made a full recovery.
Counsel relied on the Book of Quantum, which lists awards of up to €32,500 for minor shoulder injuries, and argued for compensation in the region of €20,000. The judge said the Book of Quantum was not binding and had to be approached with caution in light of Court of Appeal decisions that had reduced awards in some personal injury cases.
In setting the award, the judge applied principles from appellate and Supreme Court decisions: damages should be fair to both sides, proportionate to awards for more serious injuries, reasonable in light of average earnings, and assessed with appropriate scepticism and common sense. He concluded that €20,000 would not be proportionate to the injury or reasonable given the full recovery, limited GP treatment and five days away from work.
The judgment also noted that Garda Compensation cases must be heard in the High Court and that legal costs can substantially exceed modest awards. It suggested that hearing such cases in lower courts or through the Personal Injuries Assessment Board could reduce costs. The court’s order in this case was the €8,000 general damages award and €60 special damages.