The High Court dismissed David McNamara’s personal injury claim against Bus Éireann/Irish Bus after finding that a car driven by the company’s employee did not hit or otherwise make contact with him.
Mr McNamara alleged that the driver struck him during a dispute over a disabled parking space on Catherine Street in Limerick city centre on 26 January 2017. He said the car first touched his knees while he stood in front of it, then drove out of the space and hit his left knee and hip, causing him to fall. The driver was an employee of the defendant at the time.
The driver, Edward Ryan, denied making contact. He said he reversed out of the space after Mr McNamara moved away from the car. His granddaughter, Brittney Ryan, who was in the front passenger seat, also said the car did not touch Mr McNamara as it left. She testified that he was at the side of the road, using his phone, and about one or two feet from the car.
Justice Cian Ferriter said he found the evidence of Mr Ryan and Ms Ryan clearer and more reliable overall than Mr McNamara’s account. He accepted Ms Ryan’s evidence that there was no contact and found she was well placed to see the alleged point of impact. He also accepted Mr Ryan’s account that the car reversed before leaving and that he paused further along the street to photograph Mr McNamara’s car registration.
The judge noted that parts of Mr Ryan’s evidence were less convincing, including his account of when he realised he had parked in a disabled space. He said the episode could have been avoided if Mr Ryan had acted more reasonably. However, he found Mr Ryan credible on the central question of whether the car hit Mr McNamara.
The judgment also considered the account Mr McNamara gave his GP the day after the incident. The judge said it described the alleged initial contact but omitted the later claim that the car drove out at speed and knocked him down. He also noted that no bruising, cuts or other obvious external injuries were recorded at the hospital or by the GP.
The judge concluded that, on the balance of probabilities, the car did not hit or otherwise contact Mr McNamara and that he had not established negligence by the defendant. He dismissed the claims against Bus Éireann/Irish Bus. The judgment records no damages award.