The High Court assessed damages at €65,000 for a plumbing contractor injured in a motorcycle crash on Achill Island, after the defendants conceded liability. The case was heard solely to determine general damages; the court also directed that agreed special damages be added.
Mr Justice Bernard J. Barton delivered the judgment on 16 June 2017. The plaintiff was riding with the Dublin Motorcycle Touring Club on 22 March 2014 when the accident occurred. The judgment states he bore no responsibility for it.
The plaintiff sustained soft tissue injuries to his lower back, fractures to his left ring finger and thumb, and a significant fracture of his right wrist. The wrist required surgery to fix the fracture, followed later by a procedure to remove the plate and screws and improve forearm rotation. The medical reports admitted as evidence described lasting restricted movement and reduced strength in the wrist. The court accepted that further improvement was unlikely.
The court found that post-traumatic arthritis had developed in the wrist, but that the risk of it becoming clinically significant was low. A risk of significant future arthritis in the left ring finger joint could not be ruled out. The back injury had worsened symptoms associated with pre-existing degenerative changes, which the court considered likely to continue as they had before the crash.
The plaintiff was unable to work for about 12 weeks after the first operation and a further five to six weeks after the second. The court accepted that, on returning to work, he could initially manage only light tasks and relied on his business partner for heavier work. He later resumed most work duties, though he continued to have difficulty with some tasks and needed help lifting or manoeuvring heavy materials. He had been working alone since the partnership dissolved in late autumn 2016.
The plaintiff said he had not returned to motorcycling because of nervousness rather than physical disability, and hoped to ride again. The court considered the loss of enjoyment of touring as part of the consequences of the accident, while noting his explanation and hope of returning.
The court awarded €45,000 for pain and suffering to date and €20,000 for future pain and suffering, making €65,000 in general damages. The order provides that the agreed amount for special damages is to be added; the judgment does not state that amount.