The High Court found Bus Éireann’s driver negligent after pursuing a passenger into the company’s Drogheda depot, where the passenger fell and fractured his kneecap. The court assessed the passenger’s own responsibility at 50% and awarded him €30,000, in addition to any special damages agreed between the parties.
The injury followed an argument aboard a bus travelling from Dundalk to Drogheda on 15 May 2003. The passenger had demanded to get off before an official stop and, according to the driver’s evidence accepted by the judge, became verbally abusive and spilled beer on the bus. The driver arranged for gardaí to meet the bus at the depot.
The accounts of what happened there differed. The passenger said the driver grabbed his jacket and jumped on his back, and that another man also landed on him before he fell. His partner supported parts of that account but did not see the entire incident. The driver denied making contact and said the passenger ran into the depot and fell. A station inspector saw the passenger running with the driver behind him but did not witness a fall or any contact. A garda who arrived later also did not see the fall.
Justice Michael Peart said he could not resolve whether the driver had been on the passenger’s back or had brought him to the ground. He found the passenger’s account unreliable in places, while taking account of his poor health and recollection. The court also noted that the passenger had been drinking and had behaved aggressively on the bus.
The judge concluded that the driver need not have pursued the passenger because the gardaí were close to the depot. The pursuit contributed significantly to the fall, the court found, even though the passenger was also trying to evade the gardaí. The judge held the defendant liable for the driver’s negligence and attributed 50% of the responsibility for the injury to the passenger.
The passenger suffered a multi-fragmentary fracture of the right kneecap, which was treated surgically. The fracture had healed, and the court found the knee was practically the same as the other knee, though future degenerative changes were probable. The judge assessed past pain and suffering at €35,000 and future pain and suffering at €25,000. After the 50% deduction, judgment was for €30,000, plus any special damages agreed by the parties.