The High Court assessed compensation of €90,000 for a Garda member who suffered permanent wrist injuries while helping restrain a prisoner in Dublin. It also added €9,459.94 in pecuniary expenses agreed by the parties, bringing the stated total to €99,459.94.
In a judgment delivered on 20 June 2016, Mr Justice Bernard J. Barton accepted that the woman’s wrist function and strength were unlikely to improve significantly. He found that if she returned to An Garda Síochána after her career break, she would probably be restricted to light, generally office-based duties. The court also accepted that she would probably pursue administrative work elsewhere.
The injury occurred on Dame Street on 2 July 2011. The judgment says the applicant was assisting in restraining a prisoner who was resisting arrest. As she tried to free one of his arms to handcuff him, he caught her right arm, rolled over and pinned it between his body and the ground.
Initial X-rays were reported as normal, but an arthroscopy in February 2013 confirmed a significant tear of the scapho-lunate ligament. The applicant underwent ligament reconstruction the following month and spent about six weeks in a plaster cast. She continued to have reduced movement and strength, pain and visible scarring.
The judge accepted medical evidence that the remaining deficits were likely to be permanent. He noted an estimated 20% to 30% risk of painful progressive wrist arthritis developing in future, which could require further medical intervention. No other further treatment was envisaged in the medical evidence described in the judgment.
The applicant told the court that her injury also affected her skydiving. She had returned to the activity but said she could make about 50 jumps a year, compared with about 250 before the injury, and could no longer work as an instructor. The judge accepted that her ability to skydive and instruct had been permanently affected.
The respondent argued that concerns about future work capacity were speculative and pointed to improvement in the applicant’s symptoms and wrist movement. The judge rejected that position in light of the medical evidence and the applicant’s account. He assessed general compensation at €50,000 for the period to the judgment and €40,000 for the future, plus the parties’ agreed expenses. The judgment makes those compensation assessments; the supplied text does not state any separate costs order.