The High Court awarded Gerard Connolly €39,282.75 in damages after finding him 35% contributorily negligent for a collision with a car in Sligo. The court found the driver, Colin O’Donnell, primarily responsible, at 65%, for failing to keep a sufficient lookout.
Mr Justice Michael Peart delivered judgment on 22 November 2005. The case concerned a collision shortly before 1am on 18 May 2003, as Connolly began crossing O’Connell Street. O’Donnell was driving a car owned by the second defendant, Edmund O’Mahoney. The defendants’ case was that O’Donnell had permission to use it privately and was not working as a taxi.
The judge accepted evidence from witness Mary Clarke that Connolly stepped off the pavement while she remained on it, crossed a parking lane and entered the first traffic lane into the car’s path. He found that Connolly had not looked to his left before stepping onto the road. The judge considered that carelessness was probably induced by alcohol consumption.
The court also found that O’Donnell was travelling very slowly. But given the busy streets and the parking or loading lane between the pavement and the traffic lane, the judge found he should have kept a lookout that would allow him to respond to Connolly entering the road. He should have been able to stop or sound his horn before impact, the judgment said. The judge did not rely on Susan Lynch’s evidence in deciding liability, and did not rely on a Garda sketch or measurements.
Connolly suffered a forehead wound requiring 14 stitches, facial abrasions and bruising, and soft-tissue injuries to his left side, arm, leg and neck. The forehead wound left a permanent scar about 6cm long. The judge accepted that it caused distress and embarrassment, but did not find on the balance of probabilities that the accident caused Connolly’s heavier alcohol use. He also made a limited allowance for possible psychological effects associated with the scar.
The court assessed general damages at €60,000 and recorded agreed special damages of €435, for total damages of €60,435. After deducting 35% for contributory negligence, it directed that Connolly have judgment for €39,282.75.