The High Court assessed damages of €1,389,308.90 for Peter Fagan after finding that a 2005 road traffic collision caused a significant brain injury and lasting changes to his cognitive functioning and personality.
In a judgment delivered on 31 July 2012, Mr Justice Cross said the collision happened near Navan, Co Meath, on 2 May 2005, when another vehicle crossed onto the wrong side of the road and hit Mr Fagan’s car. Liability was not in issue. The other driver had died, and the case was defended by Gerard Griffin as personal representative of Nora Daly, deceased.
The judgment records that Mr Fagan suffered a serious head injury, injuries to his chest and abdomen, and damage to his spleen and small bowel. He underwent emergency surgery and made what the judge described as a remarkable physical recovery. The central dispute at the eight-day hearing was whether the crash had caused a major personality change and related difficulties, or whether those problems pre-dated it.
The defence argued that Mr Fagan had a pre-existing personality condition and that the collision had little or no effect on his personality. The judge rejected that position. He accepted evidence from the plaintiff’s treating specialists that the injury had profoundly affected Mr Fagan’s personality and executive functioning, and that the effects were likely to be lifelong. The judge also accepted that Mr Fagan had been functioning well socially and at work before the crash, and that his post-accident difficulties with relationships and retaining employment stemmed from it.
The court accepted that Mr Fagan would need ongoing support and treatment, including brain-injury rehabilitation, psychotherapy, GP care and medication. It allowed €300,000 for future care, reducing the proposed lifetime home-visit figure because the judge did not believe that level of monitoring would be needed for the rest of Mr Fagan’s life. It allowed €10,000 for continuation of his existing psychotherapy, rather than the higher amount claimed.
The judge assessed future loss of earnings at €532,160 after applying a 10% reduction. The judgment lists total special damages of €1,139,380.90, although an earlier paragraph gives the total as €1,139,308.90. General damages were assessed at €250,000: €150,000 for pain and suffering to date and €100,000 for future pain and suffering. The judge concluded that Mr Fagan was entitled to a decree for €1,389,308.90.