The High Court awarded Anthony Doyle €74,910.80 against Bridget Lyons for injuries he suffered in a 2008 road crash, but dismissed his claim against the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland (MIBI). Mr Justice Fullam found that Doyle actually knew Lyons was uninsured at the time of the crash.
Doyle was 21 and travelling in the back of Lyons’s car on the Tullow to Carlow road in the early hours of 10 October 2008. The judge found that Lyons lost control while driving at excessive speed through bends, causing the crash and Doyle’s injuries.
Doyle had obtained judgment in default of defence against Lyons in 2011. The MIBI defended the claim, arguing that it was not liable because Doyle knew the car was uninsured. The judge said the MIBI had to prove actual knowledge, rather than that Doyle ought reasonably to have known.
The court accepted Garda Finbar O’Connor’s evidence that Doyle was present in court in October 2007 when Lyons was disqualified from driving for 25 years following a conviction for driving without insurance. The judge also relied on Doyle’s account to Garda Michael Morris after the crash: Morris said Doyle attributed the crash to a Polish driver, rather than identifying Lyons. The judge found Doyle had tried to mislead the gardaí to protect Lyons and had made no complaint about her driving.
The judge rejected Doyle’s explanation that he assumed Lyons was insured. He concluded that Doyle knew she was uninsured on the night of the crash, and dismissed the claim against the MIBI. That finding resolved the MIBI’s liability defence; it did not undo the separate judgment against Lyons.
For the claim against Lyons, the court assessed general damages at €70,000: €40,000 for injuries to date and €30,000 for future injuries. The judgment describes severe injuries to the back of Doyle’s dominant left hand and damage to three fingers, with permanent scarring and deformity. Agreed special damages were €4,910.80. The court gave judgment against Lyons for €74,910.80.