The High Court has held two defendants liable for a 1998 collision with horses on the N6 that left carpenter John O’Brien with a serious brain injury. It awarded him total damages of €337,394.02.
Mr Justice Charleton found that the horses were probably owned by the late Francis Derwin senior and kept on land controlled by his son, Francis Derwin, beside the N6. The court concluded that inadequate fencing allowed the horses to escape at dusk on 21 October 1998 and cause the crash. The defendants were held jointly and separately liable.
Mr O’Brien had been driving home from Athlone with his son Dominic when horses crossed the road. The collision killed one horse and injured another. Mr O’Brien suffered brain damage and other injuries. The judgment said he had been unable to return to carpentry and continued to experience difficulty with concentration and other lasting effects.
Ownership was disputed. The judge considered evidence about the injured horse, identified as Knockfune Dasher, including its microchip and sale records. He found it probable that Francis Derwin senior had bought the horse and that it was under the control of both defendants at the time of the collision. The judge said he did not rely on an account of earlier statements by the horse’s former owner, which he considered inadmissible, or on evidence of a later conviction involving a wandering horse.
The court found that a section of the fence was down and that, even when intact, it was inadequate to contain the horses. It also found that the horses could have been moved after the crash and that the fencing had been weakened as horses leaned over it to reach grass. These were findings made on the balance of probabilities in this civil case.
The award included €160,000 in general damages and €177,394.02 in special damages, covering past and future earnings and agreed expenses. The judge declined to make a separate award for the plaintiff’s wife’s home care. The judgment gives the total decree as €337,394.02.