The High Court has dismissed a personal injuries claim arising from a collision on Glin Road in Coolock after finding that the injured rider had not proved the defendant driver was negligent.
Dean Kane was seriously injured on 27 September 2021 while riding a Kawasaki 250 scrambler near Moatview Avenue and Glin Road, Dublin 17. He alleged that Ciaran Hearns drove across his path while turning, causing the collision.
Hearns gave a different account. He said he had completed his turn onto Glin Road and was approaching a mini-roundabout when Kane’s scrambler struck the left side of his car. Eyewitness Edel Quinn supported the defendant’s general account and said Kane appeared to be travelling at high speed, although she accepted that her caution about scrambler bikes could have influenced her impression of speed.
Ms Justice Carmel Stewart found a number of credibility problems in Kane’s evidence. Kane admitted that he had recently told vocational assessors the vehicle was an e-scooter because, on his parents’ advice, he wanted to avoid difficulties arising from the fact that the scrambler was uninsured. He confirmed in court that the vehicle was in fact a Kawasaki scrambler.
The court was also concerned that the bike and helmet were removed from the scene shortly after the collision and were never available for engineering inspection. Kane gave differing accounts about what subsequently happened to the bike and whether it had been scrapped.
The judge also found problems with evidence supporting Kane’s loss-of-earnings claim. An updated notice stated he had been working for his father and uncle for two years, while Kane maintained in evidence that he had received no payment. Neither relative gave evidence.
Ms Justice Stewart contrasted those inconsistencies with what she described as the striking consistency of Hearns’s and Quinn’s accounts. She stressed that Kane’s injuries were grave, but held that sympathy could not replace proof of liability.
The claim was dismissed because Kane had not established on the balance of probabilities that the collision resulted from Hearns’s negligence. Costs were left for final orders.