Woman awarded €56,000 over crash involving uninsured driver

A woman who was injured when the car she was driving was hit by an uninsured driver and spun around, has been awarded more than €56,000 damages by the High Court.

Patricia Dunne (63), of Drumcoura Lake Resort, Ballinamore, Co Leitrim, sued Joseph Creggy and Aine Feeley, of Hall Road, Moate, Co Westmeath over the incident at Rathowen, Co Westmeath, on January 26th, 2018.

Ms Feeley was the owner and Mr Creggy the driver of the vehicle which hit Ms Dunne’s car. As Mr Creggy was not insured, the action was also against the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) which compensates victims of accidents involving uninsured drivers.

Liability was accepted and the case, which was heard in Galway, was for assessment of damages only. Mr Justice Tony O’Connor awarded Ms Dunne a total of €56,737 against all the defendants.

The judge said the car Ms Dunne was driving was hit violently and in such a way that it spun around and ended up close to a wall. It was a frightening experience, he said.

Ms Dunne, and her husband, who was a passenger in the car, were taken by ambulance to Midland Regional Hospital, Mullingar. She had suffered injuries to her left hand, left shoulder and back.

She told the court she had lost strength in her arm and neck and was now terrified when driving.

Mr Justice O’Connor said the award included €36,000 in general damages. It was now some 40 months since the trauma and Ms Dunne was recovering bar some continuing difficulties with her left fingers, he said, adding that the court recognised the “psychological dent” caused by the incident.

The appropriate award given the exercise of proportionality required in the context of the maximum general damages for personal injuries which may be awarded to a severely disabled person for past and future pain and suffering is €20,000. That brought the total to €56,737.