A High Court judge in Cork today awarded €519,000 in damages to a Cork woman whose husband drowned in a defective life jacket in the River Lee.
Ella Sweeney (69) was awarded the damages against C H Marine, the retailers of the Baltic Winner 150 life jacket in Ireland, and Swedish company Baltic Safety Products.
Mrs Sweeney was awarded damages for the death and for her own personal suffering.
The victim died on August 18th 2003, when he fell from a boat near Blackrock in Cork. Mrs Sweeney witnessed the tragedy and has since suffered post-traumatic stress.
The life jacket, which was equipped with a faulty valve, was said to have contributed to the man's death.
The defendants had accepted liability.
The maker of the valve used in the Baltic Winner 150 life jacket, Halkey Roberts Corporation of Florida, has been joined as a third party for a future action against them by C H Marine and Baltic Safety Products.