The High Court dismissed a firefighter’s claim for damages after finding that Dublin City Council breached a duty of care by issuing inaccurate results in a promotion competition. The court held that the breach caused no injury that entitled him to damages.
In a judgment delivered on 7 December 2007, Ms Justice Clark said the council had a duty to ensure the competition results were accurate before notifying candidates. She found that duty had been breached, but concluded the claim did not meet the requirements for damages for nervous shock or psychiatric injury.
The firefighter had been told he was among the 50 successful candidates in a 2002 competition for promotion to sub-officer. A few days later, he and a colleague were informed that a calculation error meant they had not made the list. The error followed the omission of junior officer course results from a spreadsheet used to calculate candidates’ marks. The judgment said the difference between the firefighter’s score and the last successful candidate’s score was less than two points.
The council admitted the error and that the firefighter suffered upset, embarrassment and distress. He left work during his shift and remained on full pay for six months. His employers apologised and offered an ex gratia payment of €5,000, which he did not accept. He later returned to his duties and had since applied unsuccessfully for the promotion again.
The court noted that he had no recognisable psychiatric illness, received no medication or specialist psychiatric treatment, and attended five or six counselling sessions. A psychiatrist called by the council also found no psychiatric illness. The judge said the evidence established distress and disappointment, but not a condition that could support damages for nervous shock or psychiatric injury.
Although the judge found a duty of care and a breach, she ruled that the firefighter had not established an injury attracting damages and dismissed the claim.