The High Court awarded Sandra Kelly €247,488 in damages after finding that a 2001 traffic collision caused psychological symptoms that prevented her from travelling to work. The court accepted her evidence and that of her treating psychiatrist, and rejected the defence argument that she contributed to her injuries by not wearing a seatbelt.
Mr Justice Diarmuid B. O’Donovan delivered judgment on 5 July 2005. Liability for the collision was not contested. The judge found that the defendant’s taxi entered a Dublin junction against a red light and struck the car in which Ms Kelly was a rear-seat passenger. She had taken off her seatbelt to feed her baby.
The defence alleged contributory negligence. The judge said there was no evidence that a seatbelt would have reduced the injuries, and considered that the front seat had been pushed back against Ms Kelly’s legs. He was not persuaded that she was contributorily negligent.
Ms Kelly suffered extensive bruising to both legs and could not walk for about four weeks. The physical injuries later subsided, but she developed severe anxiety associated with cars and traffic. Her psychiatrist, Dr Robert Cantrell, diagnosed post-traumatic stress, agoraphobia, depression and phobic panic. He said the symptoms followed the collision, resisted treatment and left her unable to work outside the home because she could not reliably travel to a workplace. He was hopeful she might improve, but could not say it was probable; he considered the condition might become chronic.
The judge accepted Dr Cantrell’s evidence and described Ms Kelly as an honest and reliable witness. A vocational rehabilitation consultant also considered her unemployable outside the home at that time, and said retraining might be needed if she returned to work. The court heard that she had been due to start as a catering assistant at Beaumont Hospital on 13 April 2001.
The award comprised €25,000 for past general damages, €65,000 for future general damages, €75,961 for past lost earnings, €119,340 for future lost earnings, and €602 in agreed expenses. The future earnings figure assumed she would not return to work for eight years, then applied a 15% discount for contingencies. The court deducted €38,415 in disability benefit received and expected to be received, leaving €247,488.
The judgment assessed damages. It did not set out any separate order on legal costs.