The High Court awarded a self-employed service fitter €252,000 in damages and costs after a 2000 motorway collision left him with lasting back and knee problems. Liability had been conceded, so the case proceeded as an assessment of damages.
The judgment, delivered by Mr Justice Budd on 22 July 2005, concerned a crash on the M50 on 28 November 2000. The plaintiff was driving south when a Honda car, propelled across the central reservation after being struck from behind by the second defendant’s vehicle, collided head-on with his van.
The plaintiff suffered injuries to his back and knees, among other complaints. He later underwent surgery for a ruptured lumbar disc and arthroscopy on his left knee. The court accepted the treating neurosurgeon’s evidence that the disc rupture requiring surgery was caused by the collision, rather than progressive degeneration. The judge also accepted that the crash injured both knees.
The defendants had argued that a football incident in August 2001 caused the plaintiff’s long-term back problems. The judge preferred the treating surgeon’s evidence, noting that the plaintiff had undergone an MRI before that football incident and had reported continuing back pain. The judgment records that the plaintiff returned to demanding work despite pain, at times with help from an apprentice.
The court awarded €80,000 in general damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenities to the date of judgment, €23,000 for past loss of earnings and €23,600 in special damages. It awarded a further €125,400 in future general damages, including recognition of reduced future employability. The judge said the injuries were likely to force the plaintiff to give up strenuous fitting work, though he had other interests, including a share in a pub.
The judge did not award a separate sum for future loss of earnings. He found that the plaintiff had not established a reliable earnings differential because the records were incomplete and the calculation of lost hours was uncertain. The court also found that no earnings loss had been established for 2004. The €23,000 past-loss figure had been agreed between the parties, subject to proof that the loss was caused by the collision; the judge found that condition met.
The plaintiff’s request for aggravated damages was refused. The judgment totalled the awards at €252,000 and ordered costs to the plaintiff.