The High Court awarded Detective Garda Michael O’Sullivan €111,396 in damages for injuries suffered when a car driven by Garda colleague Mark Ryan crashed into a tree. The award followed a 25% reduction for contributory negligence because O’Sullivan was not wearing a seatbelt.
In a judgment delivered on 25 January 2005, Mr Justice Michael Peart found that O’Sullivan was thrown forward in the crash and injured his left arm and right knee against the dashboard. O’Sullivan had said his arm struck a pillar behind the passenger seat. The judge preferred the dashboard account, finding it more likely on the balance of probabilities.
The judgment records that the crash happened on 25 March 2002, after the men left a social function at a golf club. O’Sullivan was a front-seat passenger. The car was written off, and he suffered a complex fracture of his left upper arm, nerve injury and a right knee injury. His arm required prolonged treatment and physiotherapy; his knee was later examined by arthroscopy.
The judge found that the absence of a seatbelt contributed significantly to the injuries and amounted to contributory negligence under section 34(1) of the Civil Liability Act 1961. He reduced the damages by 25%, citing the plaintiff’s responsibility and the Supreme Court’s approach to apportionment in O’Sullivan v Dwyer.
Medical witnesses disagreed about the long-term effects. Some expressed concern that O’Sullivan might be unsafe in confrontational Garda duties and might have to transfer to forensic work, losing overtime. The judgment also noted that he had passed a Garda fitness assessment, including tests involving firearms, and had been certified fit for duty by the force’s Chief Medical Officer. The judge held that O’Sullivan had not proved it was probable that he would be unable to continue his current duties, so no continuing loss of overtime was established.
The court accepted that ongoing physiotherapy was reasonable and included €11,511 for future treatment. It did not find that a future knee replacement was probable in the short or medium term, or that any such replacement would be caused by the crash. It also found the risk of elbow arthritis to be very low.
The assessment comprised €75,000 for past pain and suffering, €20,000 for future pain and suffering, and €53,528 in special damages, including past medical costs, physiotherapy, past loss of earnings and future physiotherapy. After the contributory-negligence reduction, judgment was entered for O’Sullivan for €111,396.