A 30-year-old man who suffered life-changing injuries when a van was deliberately driven at him on a street has settled his High Court action for €2.85 million.
Father-of-two Stephen Roche was catastrophically injured and left in a coma for 16 days after the incident on Main Street, Edgeworthstown, Co Longford, four years ago.
A court previously heard that the van was driven in a circle around Mr Roche and another man and on the second circle the driver drove at Mr Roche and knocked him over.
In the High Court on Thursday, Mr Roche’s counsel, Sara Moorhead SC, said it was a very tragic case. She said there had been an altercation earlier in the night and the van driver deliberately drove at Mr Roche who suffered severe injuries.
In June 2020, Aaron Cassidy (29), of Cranleymore, Edgeworthstown, Co Longford, was jailed for dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm to Mr Roche on September 10th, 2017. Cassidy was also disqualified from driving for 10 years.
Cassidy was sentenced to six years with the last 12 months suspended. The Court of Appeal later dismissed Cassidy’s appeal against the sentence.
In the High Court on Thursday, counsel told Mr Justice Paul Coffey a large part of the settlement will go towards Mr Roche’s future care needs. The money will be lodged in court.
Uninsured driver
The settlement is against the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) as Cassidy was uninsured at the time.
Stephen Roche, of Mullingar, Co Westmeath, had through his sister, Tracey Golden, sued the MIBI and the van driver, Aaron Cassidy, as a result of the incident on September 10th, 2017.
He had claimed he was a pedestrian on Main Street, Edgeworthstown, when suddenly and without warning the van driven by Cassidy collided with him.
He further claimed the driver was driving too fast in all the circumstances, without due care and attention and in a dangerous manner. He claimed there was also a failure to drive at an appropriate speed or with appropriate care and caution.
The van he said had been driven without regard for Mr Roche’s safety.
After he was knocked down, Mr Roche was brought to Mullingar General Hospital and later transferred to Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, for treatment.
The Court of Appeal, in dismissing Cassidy’s appeal against sentence earlier this year and on hearing of the life-changing injuries suffered by Mr Roche, said it was “entirely correct to place the offence near the highest end of the spectrum.”
The court had heard Mr Roche suffered ongoing health problems including dizziness, blurred vision, difficulties with reading and writing, and he will be on anti-epilepsy medicine for the rest of his life.
