The High Court awarded Michael Wilders €62,015 after finding that a 2015 collision in the grounds of St James’s Hospital left him with ongoing right knee symptoms and lasting limits on work and sport.
Mr Justice Barr delivered the judgment on 13 March 2018. Liability was not in issue in the proceedings. The judgment says Mr Wilders, a medical devices engineer at the hospital, was crossing a pedestrian crossing on 8 July 2015 when a car travelling on the wrong side of the road struck him. The driver did not stop.
He sustained injuries to his right leg, hip and knee. The hip and thigh injuries recovered, but he continued to report knee pain, intermittent locking and instability. An MRI scan in June 2016 showed an osseous defect in the femur’s inter-condylar articulating cartilage, while the menisci and intra-articular cartilages were intact.
The court heard that he had tried to return to five-a-side soccer but stopped after his knee became painful and swollen. He continued to coach his son’s Gaelic football team, though with a more limited role. At work, he found long distances difficult and used a cushion when kneeling to work on machines. Physiotherapy was continuing, and the judgment records about €1,730 spent on treatment.
The medical opinions differed on the likely course of his symptoms. Consultant orthopaedic surgeon Gary O’Toole did not expect a full recovery and considered that work adaptations would remain necessary. Defence consultant Martin Walsh expected some improvement with exercises, regarded arthroscopic treatment as unlikely to be needed in the foreseeable future, and anticipated residual difficulty after prolonged sitting, driving or football.
The judge accepted Mr Wilders’s evidence and found that he had not exaggerated the accident, injuries or their effects. The court awarded €30,000 for pain and suffering to date and €30,000 in general damages for the future. It added the agreed €2,015 in special damages, making a total award of €62,015. The judgment does not set out any further order beyond that award.