The High Court awarded Ingrid Corbett €58,500 in damages after she fell while leaving the Hillgrove Hotel in Monaghan in July 2000. Quinn Hotels Limited admitted liability for the fall.
In a judgment delivered on 25 July 2006, President of the High Court Finnegan assessed which injuries were probably caused by the accident. The court heard evidence from medical reports agreed by both sides and from Leo Vella.
The judge found that the fall caused a nasal fracture, cuts and abrasions to the nose and chin, a scar between the upper lip and nose, damage to two upper front teeth, and injuries to the knees and left shoulder. The nose and chin injuries had healed without lasting effects. The lip injury left a visible scar. One front tooth had lost part of its crown; the judge allowed €500 for the possibility of future dental treatment. Corbett had been unable to eat solid food for about 12 days because of her dental injuries.
The judge found that bruising and abrasions to the knees caused serious difficulty for about four weeks, followed by a gradual recovery. He accepted that she had mild chondromalacia causing occasional, not significant, discomfort. On the shoulder, he found that the fall had exacerbated a pre-existing condition and that recovery would ordinarily have been expected within some years. The judgment records conflicting medical opinions and says the judge could not accept that Corbett had significant shoulder pain at the time of judgment.
Quinn Hotels applied under section 26 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004, arguing that Corbett had knowingly given evidence that was false or misleading in a material respect. The judge refused the application. Although he considered her evidence misleading, he was satisfied that she honestly believed it and did not intend to mislead the court.
The award comprised €47,500 for pain and suffering to date, €7,500 for future pain and suffering, €500 for possible future dental expenses and €3,000 in agreed special damages. The judgment does not break the pain-and-suffering award down by individual injury.