The Court of Appeal has increased the award to Thomas Ronan, who was injured in a 2016 road collision, from €26,000 in general damages to a total judgment of €72,561.43, including agreed special damages.
In a judgment delivered on 11 July 2022, Mr Justice Noonan said the High Court award for pain and suffering was significantly below the proper level. Justices Haughton and Allen agreed. Liability for the collision was not disputed at the High Court trial.
The appeal concerned the amount of compensation. Medical reports recorded a significant left shoulder injury, including adhesive capsulitis and tendinopathy, and a later MRI showed a tear of more than 50% in the supraspinatus tendon. Ronan underwent injections and two operations under general anaesthetic. The later surgery included a tendon repair. His surgeon reported excellent pain relief and resolved neck pain, while anticipating recovery towards normal activities. Ronan had resumed driving smaller lorries but said he could not return to long-distance HGV driving.
The appeal court rejected the defendant’s argument, raised for the first time during the appeal, that the surgery resulted from degeneration unrelated to the collision. Noonan J said that argument had not been made at trial and could not be introduced on appeal. He also said doctors’ opinions about injury should not be based on vehicle photographs or assumptions that a collision causing little visible damage could not cause significant injury.
The court assessed general damages at €50,000 for pain and suffering to date and €10,000 for the future, taking account of the surgery’s success and continuing work limitations. It also awarded €10,000 for a relatively modest loss of employment opportunity because medical evidence supported reducing exposure to strenuous tasks involved in HGV driving.
The court did not allow the claimed loss of earnings. The High Court had rejected that claim after finding the evidence about a purported lorry-driving job offer unreliable. The plaintiff accepted in written submissions on appeal that he had failed to establish the claim. The appeal court said the trial judge was entitled to reject it in full.
Adding agreed special damages of €2,561.43 to the €70,000 award, the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and substituted judgment for €72,561.43.