Cyclist awarded €13,000 after falling off sunlounger

A 67-year-old man who had to give up cycling after falling off a sunlounger has been awarded damages of more than €13,000.

"I was no Sean Kelly, but I enjoyed it, and having to give up cycling had the biggest impact on my life as a result of the accident," Frank O'Reilly told the Circuit Court on Wednesday.

Mr O'Reilly told his barrister, Barney Quirke, that on June 26th, 2012, he had hurt his left knee and lower back when the sunlounger he was lying on, at his home on Kickham Park in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, collapsed. His back recovered quite quickly, he said, but his knee had been more problematic. Mr O'Reilly had wanted to continue cycling but never got back on his bike. He said he used to take part in charity rides and the annual Sean Kelly 50km cycle.

Mr Quirke told Mr Justice Raymond Groarke liability had been conceded and the hearing was to assess damages.

Mr O'Reilly told John Kerr, counsel for Argos, where he bought the sunlounger, that he had not gone to see his doctor for more than two weeks after his fall and that visits he made to his GP were in connection with other health problems. Mr O'Reilly later had an operation on his knee. He told Mr Kerr that he never took painkillers and that this did not mean his injury had been "low level" and "just a discomfort." Mr Kerr said Mr O'Reilly's medical experts had suggested his injury would clear up within three months.

Mr Justice Groarke, awarding €13,400 in damages, said that Mr O’Reilly had pre-existing wear and tear to his knee and that, even though Mr O’Reilly believed all of his ongoing difficulties related to the accident, there was, regrettably, no medical evidence to support his contention.