The High Court awarded a Garda officer €90,138.78 in damages for injuries sustained when his motorcycle collided with a car in Dublin in September 2021. Liability had been admitted, and the parties had agreed special damages of €5,138.78. The only issue for the court was general damages.
Mr Justice Paul Coffey assessed general damages at €85,000. He valued the officer’s left forearm injury at €55,000, his right wrist injury at €42,000 and other soft tissue injuries, including testicular bruising, at €3,000. He then applied a €15,000 discount to account for overlap between the injuries and their treatment and recovery.
The judgment said the officer suffered fractures to both arms after his motorcycle struck the driver’s side of the defendant’s car. He underwent surgery to repair the fractures and was unable to use either arm during much of his recovery, relying on his wife for washing, dressing and feeding. He returned to full duties after about a year.
The court heard that he had made a substantial functional recovery but continued to experience weakness in both limbs, intermittent pain and stiffness in his right wrist, and pain in his left arm when lifting more than 10kg. He also had visible surgical scars and a soft tissue mass on his left arm. His orthopaedic surgeon assessed the risk of future arthritis in the right wrist at less than 25%; the judge said the risk was relevant but was not a probability.
The parties disagreed about the guideline categories for the two main injuries. The plaintiff argued that the left forearm injury was severe and the wrist injury serious; the defendant argued for moderate classifications. The judge placed the forearm injury in the lower end of the second severe bracket, noting its permanent cosmetic effects and the officer’s substantial functional recovery. He assessed the wrist injury between the moderate and serious categories.
In setting the overall award, the judge considered that the injuries arose from one accident and overlapped in treatment and recovery, while also noting that injuries to both arms increased the officer’s dependence on others. The court entered judgment for €90,138.78: €85,000 general damages and €5,138.78 special damages.