A man found lying on a footpath at a Dundalk service station with serious head injuries, was "probably" struck by a motor vehicle, the High Court decided yesterday.
The court awarded Mr Patrick Rogers €120,700 and costs. The Motor Insurance Bureau of Ireland was ordered to pay the award to Mr Rogers (58), of Dowdall's Hill, Dundalk.
In a reserved judgment on Mr Rogers's action against the MIBI, Mr Justice Herbert said the alleged accident took place on May 27th, 1996, near a flower bed at the Maxol Service Station on the Newry Road, Dundalk.
He said there was evidence that Mr Rogers had consumed seven pints over a period of three hours and 15 minutes and had consumed sandwiches and cocktail sausages. The judge said he was told, and had no reason to reject the evidence, that Mr Rogers normally consumed five pints so that his body had become "habituated to constantly coping with at least that amount of alcohol".
The judge said he was satisfied the extra two pints of Guinness consumed on this particular occasion had not resulted in Mr Rogers becoming either mentally or physically impaired.
Mr Rogers had told the court that a long time after the incident, perhaps three years, he recalled he was walking in the middle of the footpath between the flower bed and the petrol pumps when he saw lights flying at him from the northern end of the service station. He could not get out of the way in time and his next recollection was waking up in hospital. He said he never had any doubt but that he was struck by a car.
Mr Justice Herbert said he was satisfied Mr Rogers was struck by a vehicle being driven on the footpath.
