The High Court assessed damages at €41,588.38 for a woman who slipped and fell in a hospital shredding room in Limerick in November 2013. Mr Justice Tony O’Connor found that the fall caused soft tissue injuries affecting her left shoulder and knee, as well as intermittent pins and needles in three fingers of her left hand.
The assessment hearing concerned the amount payable for the injuries. The defendant, the Health Service Executive, disputed whether the plaintiff’s ongoing symptoms were caused by the fall or by a low impact road traffic collision in December 2013. It also argued that changes seen in scans of her neck could explain her shoulder symptoms.
The judge accepted the evidence of orthopaedic surgeon Mr Michael Gilmore that the shoulder, knee and hand symptoms were attributable to the fall. He noted that the defendant’s consultant, Mr Cormac Tansey, had not been available to answer questions about Mr Gilmore’s reasoning. The plaintiff’s treating shoulder surgeon, Mr Hannan Mullet, supported Mr Gilmore’s account of the shoulder problems.
The court also found that degenerative changes shown on MRI scans had influenced the plaintiff’s symptoms. Mr Gilmore said the plaintiff might have developed similar shoulder problems later even without the fall, but the medical evidence did not establish when that might have happened. The judge therefore was not satisfied that all of her shoulder complaints could be attributed to the accident.
The plaintiff said she continued to experience shoulder discomfort and knee restriction. Her shoulder injections provided limited relief. She had not suffered loss of earnings. The judge considered the injuries to fall in the minor rather than moderate range, while taking account of the possibility that shoulder difficulties would have arisen later in life regardless of the fall. He found the later road collision had little or no effect on the principal complaints and could not have caused the knee symptoms.
The award comprised €30,000 in general damages for the period from November 2013 to February 2023, €7,000 for future general damages relating to knee discomfort and possible lifestyle restriction, and €4,588.38 in agreed special damages. The judge directed the HSE to pay €41,588.38, subject to any further submissions or agreement by counsel. After judgment, the parties agreed the terms of the costs order; the judgment does not state those terms.