Psychologist accused of ‘over-egging’ her pudding as €60,000 injury claim dismissed

A judge has dismissed a €60,000 damages claim taken by a psychologist against Trinity College Dublin after finding that she “over-egged her pudding” and exaggerated the extent of her injuries.

Judge John Martin ordered Blessing Agbo, of Greenmount Park, Green Road, Newbridge, Co Kildare, a former psychology student at Trinity, to pay the university’s legal fees in a case.

Ms Agbo (50) told defence counsel Shane English in the Circuit Civil Court that she had bounced down a flight of wet steps after leaving a lecture on the college campus on February 21st, 2017.

Mr English, who appeared for Trinity with Kerry Lyons of Ennis Solicitors, told Judge Martin that Ms Agbo told different doctors she had bounced, cascaded, tumbled and fell head over heels down the steps, injuring her foot, ankle, lower leg, hip, back and shoulder on her left side.

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She claimed the injuries were such that she had to use a crutch and wear an orthopaedic boot for up to two years and had difficulty being intimate with her husband.

Liability admitted

Judge Martin was told that Trinity was admitting liability in the case but was questioning the claimed extent of the injuries in a hearing to assess damages allegedly due to Ms Agbo.

As cross-examination of Ms Agbo drew to a close, the court was shown a video of the mother of four walking unaided from her home to her car without her orthopaedic boot or crutch, but then arriving at a consultant’s clinic with a boot on her foot and a crutch in hand as she exited the car and limped into the surgery.

Other videos played to the court showed Ms Agbo running, walking, stooping and bending without apparent issue and lifting several large shopping bags into the boot of a waiting taxi. She told Judge Martin that she sometimes was able to walk unaided when she took painkilling tablets and because of exercises and ongoing physiotherapy.

Throwing out the case, Judge Martin said the court did not know from Ms Agbo’s evidence if she had fallen down four, 12 or an entire flight of steps. He said the fall was undoubtedly painful and she was taken to hospital by ambulance.

Difficult to determine

Judge Martin said an initial medical report suggested a recovery could be made within a number of months but it was difficult for the court to determine on the basis of her evidence whether the injuries had persisted in the long, medium or short term.

He said Ms Agbo had “over-egged her pudding” and, in cross-examination, affirmed that for the best part of two years she required the use of a crutch and orthopaedic boot when this was clearly not the case. He said the video footage clearly showed that she had no difficulty with day to day activities as she had claimed.

“It is most unfortunate that she has sought to present her case in the manner in which she has done so and has basically flawed her own claim by her evidence,” Judge Martin said. “I believe such is the extent of overegging and exaggeration that she has left the court with no alternative but to dismiss her claim and I award costs against her.”