Woman loses ‘egging’ court action

A mother of three left blind in one eye after she was “egged” from a passing car has lost her High Court action for damages against the car driver.

Ann Doody had to have her eyeball removed two years after an egg was thrown at her by a passenger in a passing car as she walked with friends near her Dublin home.

Dismissing the case today, Mr Justice Kevin Cross said he had come to the conclusion the propositions put forward by Mrs Doody’s counsel that the driver should have ordered the passengers to put the eggs away; ordered the windows to be put up or stopped the car and put the passengers out if necessary were too extreme and ultimately not reasonable.

None of the passengers, the judge said, gave evidence as to any conversation about egging anybody on the road.

“This may well be selective amnesia but there is no evidence the driver was warned or ought to have known that this was a likelihood,” he said.

The judge said it would be unreasonable to import on him the knowledge that an egg was going to be thrown or might be thrown in the direction of Ms Doody from his car.

It was imposing on the driver too onerous a standard of care, Mr Justice Cross said.

Ann Doody of Shankill, Co Dublin, has sued Niall Clarke, Foxes Grove, Shankill as a result of the incident on the Bray Road on March 26, 2008. She has claimed that Mr Clarke as the driver and registered owner of the car, from which the egg was thrown from a back window by a passenger, was allegedly negligent in relation to the management and control of the vehicle.

The court heard that all the occupants of the care were under 18 years of age at the time. Mr Clarke, whom the court heard is sorry for the injury to Mrs Doody, has claimed a driver is not liable for the wrongful acts of his passenger.He as a juvenile received a caution from gardaí in relation to the incident.

David Morgan of The Green, Woodbrook Glen, Bray , Co Wicklow pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court four years ago to assault causing harm to Ann Doody and apologised to Mrs Doody.

Morgan was also directed to pay €10,000 he had offered as compensation, but was turned down by Mrs Doody, to the Society of St Vincent de Paul and the Peter McVerry Trust.

In his judgment, Mr Justice Cross said Mrs Doody suffered an appalling and catastrophic injury and what happened was “nothing short of a tragedy.”

The judge said he accepted none of the young people in the car was aware of the serious harm that had occurred . He said they then went on “ a rampage of egging” as they were excluded from a house party and at various stages of the night egged the house and some of the guests.

The judge said he accepted that Mr Clarke knew or ought to have known there were eggs in the back seat and what was occurring may have been potentially volatile and he ought to have known the passenger window was at least partially open.

Had there been any evidence of a discussion of egging pedestrians Mr Justice Cross said he would have accepted the submissions of Mrs Doody’s counsel.

“I do not believe the evidence established Mr Clarke was in breach of the duty of care he undoubtedly did owe to Mrs Doody the follow road user on the day,”the judge said.

The Judge made no order for costs which means each side pays their own costs.