The High Court has awarded €130,000 in general damages to a Cork woman who suffered post-concussion syndrome and other injuries after her car was struck from behind at Shannon Park in November 2020.
Colette Sheehan was stopped at a roundabout when a vehicle owned by Graham Beamish hit the rear of her car, pushing it forward and to the left. Liability was not in issue and the hearing concerned damages only.
Mr Justice Conor Dignam found that Ms Sheehan suffered post-concussion syndrome with worsening migraines, whiplash injuries to her neck and lower back, knee injuries, anxiety and depression, and an abrupt onset of menopause linked to the trauma.
The post-concussion syndrome was treated as the dominant injury. Symptoms included fatigue, sensitivity to light and noise, headaches, scalp tingling, poor concentration and reduced ability to process information. The judge accepted that these problems had significantly affected her work and recreational life.
Before the accident, Ms Sheehan worked full-time in an IT role in the civil service and was active in cycling, hiking, skiing, snowboarding and sea swimming. Since returning to work, she had only been able to manage about half-time hours and was doing less complex work than before.
The court valued the post-concussion injury at €75,000. It separately assessed psychiatric injury at €20,000, neck and related spinal injuries at €30,000, knee injuries at €11,000 and the abrupt onset of menopause at €15,000. Because some consequences overlapped, the judge applied a €55,000 uplift rather than simply adding all figures together, producing total general damages of €130,000.
Past loss of earnings to November 2023 was calculated at €65,797.06 after agreed adjustments. A further €22,367.18 in vouched expenses was allowed. Future earnings and pension losses were also accepted on the basis of a likely three-year recovery period, subject to a 10% deduction for ordinary life contingencies.
The final special-damages figure was left to be calculated by the parties.