THE PRESIDENT of the High Court has warmly approved a “historic” Structured Settlement Agreement under which Iarnród Éireann has agreed to make periodic payments to meet the costs of lifelong care of a 40-year-old security guard severely brain-damaged after a 2.5 tonne steel gate collapsed on him.
The settlement, under which Iarnród Éireann will also make monthly income payments to the injured man, is an interim one agreed in expectation the Government will introduce legislation to provide for such settlements, having set up a working group on the matter.
If such laws are not introduced, the court will determine the value of the case and make an award in that sum. The case has been adjourned to October 2011 for the purpose of the legislative issue being addressed. The man cannot be named as he is a ward of court.
Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns said the “imaginative, forward-looking and eminently sensible” settlement heralds a new development in how seriously injured plaintiffs in personal injury cases will be cared for in circumstances where issues such as life-expectancy and future care costs were unclear.
He praised the “immense” work of Mr Justice John Quirke of the High Court, who chairs a working group on structured settlements, and who had invited the parties to consider the desirability of a structured settlement. The efforts of the group were aimed at making this form of litigation resolution more acceptable and such settlements were considered “extremely beneficial” in other jurisdictions, the judge noted.
Unlike other jurisdictions, there is no legislation here providing for structured settlements and one of the problems facing parties wishing to put such settlements in place is tax. As of now, income tax is payable on payments to injured plaintiffs under such settlements but it is hoped legislation to address that and other matters will be considered in a future Finance Bill.
Despite the difficulties, Iarnród Éireann had said it was willing to enter into an interim arrangement pending the enactment of legislation and that led to yesterday’s agreement, John Trainor SC, for the plaintiff, outlined. He was recommending the settlement which he regarded as beneficial both for his client and the company. There had been a dispute over his client’s life expectancy and there was a danger a lump sum award would not meet his lifetime care costs whereas a structured settlement would.
Under the interim Structured Settlement Agreement, the company has said it will pay the €160,000-a-year costs of care for his lifetime, pay him monthly income of some €1,200 for future loss of earnings to age 65, and cover his tax obligations. The payments will also be index-linked. He will also receive €250,000 general damages and special damages.
Iarnród Éireann will provide a letter from its chairman confirming it is a semi-State body empowered to enter into the Structured Settlement Agreement. The State is considered bound by the obligations of the company under the settlement, the court was told.
Mr Justice Kearns said he was “more than happy” to approve the agreement for the man who was working as a security guard at Iarnród Éireann’s Midland yard, North Wall, Dublin, when a heavy sliding gate came off its rollers and fell on him on December 13th, 2005. The man, a father of five, suffered severe injuries, particularly a brain injury but also injuries to his pelvis, leg and head, and is now being cared for in a specialist unit operated by Acquired Brain Injury Ireland at an annual cost of €160,000. His marriage broke up after the accident.
Liability in the action, heard by Mr Justice Quirke, was admitted by Iarnród Éireann and the case was for assessment of damages only. The court heard the man suffered damage to the front lobe of his brain as a result of which his personality changed significantly, his mental capacity was reduced and he lacked awareness of his circumstances.
