The High Court awarded a woman €134,000 after finding that a van driver caused a collision that injured her while she was jogging on the Ballynacarragy to Mullingar Road. The court found no contributory negligence on her part.
In a judgment delivered on 24 June 2016, Mr Justice Cross said the defendant accepted that he bore some liability but argued that the plaintiff contributed to the accident by jogging two abreast on the road during foggy conditions. The defendant’s case was that his driver moved onto the grass margin to avoid another vehicle.
The judge found that the driver miscalculated when he drove onto the margin, cutting off the plaintiff’s route to safety. The plaintiff had been entitled to use the public road, he said, and there was enough room for the van to pass without leaving the carriageway. He concluded that, had the van stayed on the road, the plaintiff would have moved onto the margin and the collision would not have happened.
The defendant did not give evidence. Statements from two witnesses who had been travelling behind a tractor were read by agreement. They described dense fog, while the judge considered the conditions misty or somewhat foggy based on photographs taken after the accident. He also found the plaintiff’s clothing was bright, despite her not wearing a high-visibility jacket.
The court heard that the plaintiff suffered injuries affecting her right wrist and hand, elbow, shoulder, jaw, neck and breastbone, along with dizziness, balance problems and psychological symptoms. Her wrist injury included a small fracture, and the judge found that several injuries were likely to persist. He did not attribute a spinal syrinx to the accident because the medical evidence did not establish a greater-than-even chance of a link.
The judge assessed general damages at €80,000 for pain and suffering to date and €40,000 for the future. The parties had agreed special damages of €14,000, principally for medication and medical expenses. The total award was €134,000, which the judge considered fair and reasonable.