A former Garda who was assaulted by a prisoner at Cobh Garda Station and later developed chronic pain has been awarded €458,526.22 in compensation by the High Court.
Ms Justice Leonie Reynolds made the award to Sharon Mooney, who was injured while on duty on 6 December 2015. Ms Mooney suffered injuries to her right wrist, elbow and shoulder and subsequently developed chronic pain syndrome, requiring extensive treatment and ultimately the insertion of a spinal cord stimulator in November 2024.
She had joined An Garda Síochána in 2006 and was discharged on medical grounds in 2022. The court heard that before the assault she had a significant medical history, including fibromyalgia diagnosed in May 2015. The Minister argued that those pre-existing conditions accounted for part of her later pain and functional limitations.
Several financial elements had been agreed before the hearing, leaving the court to determine general damages, future loss of earnings and a claimed loss of opportunity.
Ms Justice Reynolds treated chronic pain syndrome or complex regional pain syndrome as the dominant injury. This meant the court assessed the case principally by reference to that injury rather than adding separate full awards for overlapping conditions. She awarded €100,000 in general damages, taking account of the duration of Ms Mooney's symptoms, invasive treatment, effect on her daily and working life, pre-existing conditions and improved prognosis following the spinal cord stimulator.
Past special damages, including earnings already lost, had been agreed at €121,861.22. The judge assessed future earnings loss at €80,000 before applying a 20% reduction to reflect residual earning capacity, producing an award of €64,000 under that heading. Future pension and gratuity losses were agreed at €88,665.
The court found Ms Mooney capable of working about 20 hours per week at industry rates in her chosen field, with potential to increase her hours. A separate claim for loss of opportunity after the Garda mandatory retirement age of 62 was rejected because there was no evidence to support it.