The High Court refused an application to dismiss a personal injury claim under section 26 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004, finding the defendant had not proved that the plaintiff knowingly gave false or misleading information. The court assessed general damages at €75,000 and also allowed the claimed €22,575.76 in special damages.
The case arose from a 15 January 2016 crash near Tubber, Moate, County Westmeath. The plaintiff was a passenger in a car driven by the defendant when it lost control on a frosty road and hit a wall. The defendant withdrew liability, leaving the court to assess damages. At the end of the hearing, the defendant sought dismissal under section 26 over the plaintiff’s earlier answers about previous accidents and injuries.
The judgment records that the plaintiff had supplied information about two previous injury accidents to his solicitor in January 2018, but the solicitor did not include it in replies to the defendant’s requests for particulars. The plaintiff later signed affidavits verifying those replies. Corrections were subsequently provided, followed by discovery of records. The solicitor accepted that the omissions were his own.
The judge found the plaintiff had not tried to mislead the court and accepted that he had given the relevant information to his solicitor. The court held that the defendant had not discharged the burden of proving the plaintiff knowingly gave materially false or misleading evidence or information. The section 26 application was therefore refused. The judge also found that the defendant’s decision to make the application was not unreasonable and declined to award aggravated damages.
The court accepted the plaintiff’s evidence that his right knee struck the dashboard. It found, on the balance of probabilities, that the impact made previously quiet arthritis in that knee symptomatic, while the comparable condition in his left knee remained symptom-free. The court assessed the knee injury as significant and likely to bring forward knee replacement surgery by about ten years. It did not hold the defendant responsible for the underlying arthritis or for the need for bariatric surgery before a knee replacement.
The €75,000 general damages award covered pain and suffering to date and into the future, including anticipated knee replacement and recovery. The court also allowed the claimed special damages, including future treatment-related costs. It noted that the plaintiff continued working and had made no claim for lost earnings or loss of opportunity.