A woman who suffered life threatening brain injuries after she was struck by a bus has had her claim for damages dismissed at the High Court.
While describing Florence Mokom’s injuries as tragic, Mr Justice John Quirke ruled today there was no evidence to allow the court conclude Dublin Bus was negligent in this matter and he was satisfied the bus driver did what he could to avoid the collision.
It was “inescapable” Ms Mokom had been walking along a path when she suddenly turned and walked into the side of a bus within the space of three seconds, the judge said. Any evidence tendered in Ms Mokom’s favour was “speculative”.
It was regrettable Ms Mokom could not remember the accident and particularly sad that somebody who had come to Ireland to begin a new life had sustained such serious injuries, the judge added. Dublin Bus’s decision not to seek costs from Ms Mokom as “compassionate” in the circumstances, he said.
Ms Mokom (33), a native of Cameroon with an address at St Theresa’s Place, Glasnevin, Dublin, had sued Dublin Bus alleging negligence arising out of an accident at Botanic Road, Glasnevin, on the morning of March 3rd 2005.
Ms Mokom, a pharmaceutical technician, claimed the bus was travelling at excessive speed and the driver failed to stop, swerve or slow down to avoid the collision. She further claimed the bus failed to keep a safe distance from her, to keep a proper lookout or heed her presence on the roadway.
Dublin Bus denied the claims and argued Ms Mokom was the author of her own misfortune. It claimed she walked into the bus after failing to look before stepping off the footpath and onto the road, gave no indication of her intended path of travel and had no reasonable regard for her own safety.
Earlier, Finbarr Fox SC, for Dublin Bus, said there was no evidence his client was negligent. Ms Mokom “never looked left or right before crossing the road” and “the bus driver did all he could,” counsel said.
Declan Doyle SC, for Ms Mokom, said while his client had no memory of the accident, a case for negligence had been made. Counsel accepted there was a degree of contributory negligence and witness accounts of the the accident did not support his side’s claim but maintained Dublin Bus had been negligent.
Counsel said Ms Mokom sustained multiple fractures to her skull, damage to her airways and lungs and was taken to hospital where she was in a coma and required ventilation for 10 days.
Ms Mokom suffers headaches, dizziness, poor concentration, cognitive impairment, depression, visual impairment and seizures and was unlikely to ever work again, he said.
While capable of some degree of independent living, she would also require a degree of care for the rest of her life, Mr Doyle added. She had received care from a relative and the Acquired Brain Injury Ireland organisation.