Compensation claim news
31/10/2007
Damages for Dublin bus accident man

A Irish man who suffered serious personal injuries whilst trying to flag down a bus has been awarded damages after making a compensation claim.

The 30-year-old was granted €444,085 (£309,391) as a result of the 2005 road accident that occurred in Dublin and left him with severe head injuries.

Such was the extent of the damage caused in the accident that the injured man developed behavioural problems, suffered eyesight problems and is now totally dependant on his mother.

Hearing the accident claim, the High Court was told how the claimant had been on a night out with friends in June 2005 and had consumed a large quantity of alcohol before the group decided to head home in the early hours of the morning.

After waiting for a taxi for 15 minutes, they decided to walk and were wandering along Blanchardstown Road South when a bus approached. The rest of the group moved out of the way but the claimant stayed in the centre of the road and attempted to flag down the bus.

The driver tried to swerve out of the way but was unable to avoid hitting the man, knocking him to the ground.

In court, it transpired that the bus driver tried to swerve out of the way instead of stopping because he feared being attacked by the man standing in the road. The judge presiding over the personal injury compensation claim deemed this was an error of judgement and so held the bus company 30 percent responsible for the road accident.

The injured man was found to be accountable for the other 70 percent as he shouldn't have been stood in the road. As a result, his damages were cut from €1.48 million to €444,085.