A young mother who was catastrophically injured and rendered totally incapacitated when the car driven by her husband collided with a tractor and trailer on a Cork road has settled her action for €14.75 million.
The settlement was announced in the High Court on Thursday.
Olivia Redmond O’Callaghan, who was 28 years old at the time of the collision, was left with massive brain damage and needing 24-hour care for the rest of her life after the collision on the old Glanmire to Cork road in 2011.
Her Counsel, Dr John O’Mahony SC, at the opening of her legal action said hers is as serious as one can find in brain injury. The woman, who gave birth to her third child months after the accident, does not recognise her children, he said, and does not recognise photographs of her husband, Myles O’Callaghan, who died in the accident.
“In all my decades at the Bar, I have not seen somebody so profoundly impaired," Dr O'Mahony said. "Her family has lost the love of a mother and daughter never to be restored.”
He added: “The future is a deep, dark valley for Olivia. This sad story will continue forever…At every turn it is sad.”
Action
Ms Redmond O’Callaghan, who is now 37 years old, from Gowlane South, Donoughmore, Co Cork, had sued her late husband’s estate, the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) and Cork County Council over the accident.
The settlement the court heard on Thursday is against the MIBI and the council.
She took her action through her step-father, Liam Power and the court heard she would not be able to attend court or give evidence as her mental competency, the court heard, is “at the bottom of the spectrum.”
In court on Thursday, Dr O’Mahony with Patrick Keane SC, instructed by solicitor John Henchion, said it was an extremely tragic and sad case, adding that Olivia’s brain damage is “off the scale”.
"She carried her baby through all the trauma, but she never regained awareness of the reality of her environment or home.
"She doesn’t recognise her children. She has no engagement with anybody," Counsel said.
He added Olivia’s heroic, Norma Redmond Power and step-father have stepped in, and these grandparents are regarded as parents by Ms Redmond O’Callaghan's three children.
'Profoundly serious injuries'
At the opening of the case, Dr O’Mahony said it is a case of “most profound sadness“ and the woman who lost her husband in the crash has had the “most appalling repertoire of profoundly serious injuries”.
“Everything that could be done to her skull was done. She has been left in an appalling, sad state where she does not recognise her children and has been in institutional care since the accident on October 4th, 2011.” he said.
Approving the settlement, Mr Justice Paul Coffey said it was a most tragic case. He said the offer was very good and conveyed his best wishes to Ms Redmond O’Callaghan's family, particularly her son, Daniel who, he said, did not know his mother and what she was.
Road conditions
Against Cork County Council, it was claimed it constructed a public roadway which was allegedly defective and dangerous to road users.
The road, it was claimed, was constructed with a very tight bend with a radius of curvature which was allegedly below the minimum acceptable standard.
High vegetation, it was further alleged, was permitted to grow on the embankment of the road which allegedly restricted forward visibility.
There was, it was claimed, an alleged failure to warn Mr O’Callaghan of the sharp left-hand bend. There was also, it is alleged, a failure to erect any, or any proper, warning signs, including rumble strips.
The council denied all the claims and contended the bend was visible for 210 metres and there was a camber on the bend that, it said, benefits drivers negotiating the turn.
The collision, the council claimed, was caused by the alleged negligence of the late Mr O’Callaghan about the driving, speed, care, management and control of the car in which his wife was a passenger.
In its defence, the MIBI claimed Ms Redmond O’Callaghan allegedly failed to have any regard for her own safety and permitted herself to be carried in a car for which she allegedly knew there was no valid insurance policy in place.
