A High Court judge awarded self-employed builder P.J. Maloney €69,375 in damages after finding Patrick White liable for an incident in which White’s car pinned Mr Maloney against his jeep. The award was reduced by 25% for contributory negligence.
Mr Maloney had parked outside a national school in Cloneen on 14 December 2011 with signs on his jeep asking White’s son and daughter-in-law to pay money he said was owed for building work. White arrived, photographed the signs and tried to remove one from the side of the jeep. The accounts differed on what happened next.
Mr Maloney and his son, Jamie, told the court that White turned his car towards the jeep, pinning Mr Maloney between the vehicles. White denied contact, but accepted that his car may have turned in and possibly made contact accidentally. In a judgment delivered on 28 January 2016, Mr Justice Barr accepted Mr Maloney’s account and found that White’s vehicle turned in, effectively pinning him against the jeep. The judge held White liable.
The judge also found Mr Maloney 25% responsible for the circumstances that led to the incident. He said that parking opposite the school with signs likely to embarrass White’s son and daughter-in-law was provocative and made it foreseeable that members of the family might become agitated. The court therefore reduced the damages by that proportion.
White also applied to have the case dismissed under section 26 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004, arguing that Mr Maloney had given misleading accounts of his pre-accident back condition. The judge refused the application. He accepted that Mr Maloney had experienced back pain before the incident, but found no attempt to mislead doctors or the court. The judge said the pain had not prevented him from working or training in karate before the incident.
The court found that the incident caused injuries to Mr Maloney’s right hip and lower back, as well as more minor injuries to his right shoulder and neck. Those injuries were superimposed on pre-existing degenerative changes in his back and arthritis in his right hip. The judge found that some of Mr Maloney’s continuing pain and disability was attributable to those pre-existing conditions.
The court assessed general damages at €65,000 for pain and suffering to date and €25,000 for future pain and suffering. It also allowed €2,500 in special damages, including osteopathic treatment. The total of €92,500 was reduced by 25%, leaving a net award of €69,375.