The High Court dismissed a chef’s personal injury claim after finding he crossed a Dublin junction against a red pedestrian signal and collided with a car turning right on a green filter light. The court found the driver had also failed to keep a proper lookout, but that her failure did not cause the collision.
The case arose from a road traffic accident shortly before 7pm on 4 December 2014 at the junction of Drumcondra Road and Griffith Avenue. The plaintiff, Asif Mohammad, said he had pressed the pedestrian button and started crossing when the green man appeared. The defendant, Deirdre Walsh, said she was turning right with a green filter light.
The court heard that Mr Mohammad suffered fractures to three bones in his right foot, as well as bruising and continuing pain. His injuries prevented him from returning to work as a chef. The judgment said the parties did not significantly dispute the injuries; the central issue at trial was how the collision happened and who was responsible.
A driver who was stopped at the junction, Ms Lambe, testified that she saw Mr Mohammad emerge from behind a large lorry and cross in front of her car. She could not say what colour the filter light was at the moment of impact, but said it had been green beforehand. The judge accepted her evidence as reliable and said it corroborated Ms Walsh’s account.
The judge found that the defendant’s right-turn filter light was green and that the pedestrian signal must therefore have been red. He concluded that Mr Mohammad crossed when he was not permitted to do so and did not look to his right. The court also found that he walked into the side of the defendant’s car as it passed in front of him, rather than being struck by its front.
The judge separately found that Ms Walsh had failed to keep a proper lookout. He said that, had she driven into and struck Mr Mohammad, this would have amounted to causative negligence. But the court found that Mr Mohammad collided with the car, and that the driver’s failure to keep a lookout did not cause the accident. The plaintiff therefore failed to prove the defendant was liable.
Because of that liability finding, the court did not assess damages. It ordered the plaintiff’s claim dismissed.