A girl who suffered a catastrophic brain injury when a car collided with her at a pedestrian crossing as she walked to school has settled a High Court action for €2.95 million.
Ashleigh Carroll's counsel, Richard Kean SC, told the court she was 14-years-old when she was propelled into the air by the car which had sped along a bus lane in the Coolock area of Dublin in 2016.
Counsel explained a doctor from Egypt, who was working at Beaumont Hospital at the time, drove at speed along a bus lane according to witnesses, striking Ms Carroll who was crossing the road at a traffic light.
“She was thrown very violently into the air,” he said.
Counsel told the court an international arrest warrant exists for the Egyptian doctor, who, he said, for years after the incident maintained a full defence in the case and was “entirely dishonest”, allegeing Ms Carroll was responsible.
“For a number of years, Ashleigh was in a perilous situation where she could have been deprived of any compensation,” Counsel told Mr Justice Paul Coffey.
Ms Carroll, now 19-years-old, from Glasnevin, Dublin had through her mother, Louise Carroll sued the driver of the car, Shereen El Mashad, whom the court heard has since returned to Egypt.
Oscar Traynor Road
It was claimed that Ms Carroll was lawfully traversing a public footpath near Oscar Traynor Road, Coolock and was in the process of crossing the roadway when a vehicle driven by the doctor, in particular the wing mirror of the vehicle, collided with the teenager causing her to spin, fall to the ground and hit her head.
Counsel said liability was conceded in November 2020 and the case was before the court for assessment of damages only.
Counsel said it was an extremely violent collision and the teenager landed on her head on the ground, suffering a very significant injury.
The driver of the car later admitted reckless driving, going through a red light, driving at speed and driving in a bus lane on the day of the incident on October 20th, 2016.
The court previously heard from Counsel that prior to the incident, Ashleigh had been thriving at school and was academically inclined and hoping to study forensic anthropology in Harvard along with medicine.
He added she was in second year at secondary school and was also studying Japanese.
Mr Justice Paul Coffey approved the settlement.
High-achieving student
In a statement outside court read by the family solicitor Keira O’Reilly, the Carrolls said: “On October 20th, 2016, our lives changed forever.
"For four years liability was denied, and Ashleigh was actually blamed for causing the accident and the injury she sustained. At the time of the accident neither Ashleigh or her family were aware what happened, and this was like a black cloud over them when they were already trying to deal with the aftermath of the accident."
It added: "Ashleigh was a high-achieving student at the time of the accident, who had aspirations to go to Harvard to study forensic anthropology and also to become the President of Ireland. Unfortunately, the actions of the defendant cut this dream short.”
The court previously heard Ashleigh was discharged from hospital on November 16th, 2016 and was not able to read or feed herself. She did later return to school, but experts said she has cognitive difficulties from the acquired brain injury and will never work.
Counsel said one of his experts in the case would say Ashleigh suffered a life altering traumatic brain injury, adding that Ms Carroll has no recollection of the accident.
At the opening of the case, Counsel said scurrilous allegations were made and an “utterly dishonest” account was given by the driver of the car after the incident, meaning for four years the 14-year-old was blamed.
As a result, Ms Carrol’s action also included one claim for aggravated damages.
The doctor had also claimed Ashleigh allegedly created a public nuisance and hazard by her actions and the manner in which she attempted to cross the road and that she had allegedly run into the side of the doctor’s car.
In a statement to gardaí, Counsel said, the doctor maintained she was 100 per cent sure she went through when the lights were amber and felt something hit her car.
