A man who was knocked off his bicycle by a car has been awarded €96,000 by the High Court.
Alan Massey (48), a pharmaceutical process operator, of Clonshaugh Heights, Clonshaugh, Dublin, sued the driver of the car through her insurance company, AXA, over the incident on the Beaumont Road, Dublin, on August 16th, 2019.
Liability was admitted in the case which came before Mr Justice Micheál O'Higgins for assessment of damages.
The court heard Mr Massey suffered injuries to his shoulder and wrist as well as soft tissue injuries to his chest, knee and ankle and was off work for five months. The judge was satisfied the appropriate award was €96,920.
An application for a stay on the award pending an appeal was opposed by his counsel, David McGrath SC, instructed by Niall McCarthy of Gaffney Halligan solicitors.
Mr McGrath said if there was to be a stay, it should be on the basis of a significant payout which he suggested should be €83,170. There was no issue as to dissipation of the monies between now and an appeal because his client is working.
Elaine Morgan SC, for the defendant, said her client would be seeking to appeal on grounds of proportionality and how the injuries had impacted Mr Massey.
She said any payout pending appeal should be €30,000. She also said there had been an offer made to the plaintiff to settle the case before it was heard but which has been beaten by the award. However, she added that could change depending on the outcome of the appeal.
Mr Justice O'Higgins said he was prepared to grant a stay on the award, and on the costs awarded to Mr Massey, on the basis of a payout of €50,000.
Earlier, the judge accepted that Mr Massey, who he described as a pleasant and credible witness, was seriously incapacitated in the five months after the incident.
He said his job involved having to load heavy drums of tablets into large machines.
With the assistance of colleagues, he is able to avoid heavy lifting duties, and focus on the paperwork-side of things. However, were his employment circumstances to change, this state of affairs could change, he said.
The shoulder injury also affects his sleep, and it sometimes means he starts the day in pain if he has slept on his injured right side, he said.
He accepted that prior to the incident, Mr Massey used to go to the gym regularly, but this is no longer the case. He also used to be a very keen cyclist, and regularly cycled long distances as a hobby, and while he has returned to cycling, it is on a much reduced basis.
The judge said to his mind this represented a significant loss of amenity and impacts his wellbeing and enjoyment of life.
