The High Court dismissed the Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland’s appeal and affirmed the Circuit Court’s finding of liability for injuries caused when an uninsured driver struck Gerard Mongan with a car outside his home in Renmore, Galway. The court assessed damages at €35,500.
Mr Justice Denis McDonald delivered judgment on 29 May 2020 in a High Court appeal sitting on circuit. The MIBI was the only appellant; the first defendant did not appeal the Circuit Court’s finding against him. The appeal concerned the MIBI’s liability, not a fresh determination of the first defendant’s liability.
The judge found that, after an angry exchange about seeing his son, the driver returned and drove at Mr Mongan as he stood on the footpath. The car hit Mr Mongan’s left knee and knocked him down. The judge found on the balance of probabilities that the driver’s object at impact was to strike him, and that the car was being used as a weapon. The court also found there was no evidence the driver had originally arrived intending to injure Mr Mongan; the decision to return and strike him was likely made in anger after the initial exchange.
The MIBI argued that the incident was an intentional attack rather than negligent use of a vehicle, so the compulsory insurance rules and the MIBI Agreement did not require it to pay. The judge rejected that position. He concluded that the EU Motor Insurance Directive’s protection of injured third parties covered this incident, despite the driver’s intent, and that the relevant Irish law and MIBI Agreement had to be read consistently with that protection. He also concluded that the Directive’s relevant provisions could be enforced against the MIBI.
The judgment separately assessed Mr Mongan’s injuries. He had soft tissue damage to his knee and psychological symptoms, including anxiety and low mood. He told the court he had recovered by the end of 2015, so damages covered past pain and suffering only. The judge awarded €20,500 for the knee injury and €15,000 for psychological injury. No special damages were reported.
The court entered judgment for €35,500 and dismissed the MIBI appeal. It did not make a final costs ruling: the parties were invited to submit observations if costs remained disputed, with an agreed costs order to be reported to the County Registrar.