A woman from Co Kildare, who found a dead caterpillar in her broccoli, has been awarded £14,000 damages against Campbell Catering Ltd for post-traumatic stress and loss of earnings.
The Circuit Court President, Mr Justice Smyth, said it was obvious that mention of the caterpillar, even in court, brought on a dramatic reaction. There had been nothing in the evidence to suggest that Ms Joanie Murphy was anything but a genuine person.
Describing the case as a significant one of post-traumatic stress disorder including food phobia, he awarded her general damages of £10,000 plus £4,000 for loss of earnings.
Ms Murphy (37), who lives on a canal barge off Rathbride Road, Kildare town, Co Kildare, told the court yesterday that the blood drained from her face when she saw the "huge" dead caterpillar on her plate.
She told her counsel, Mr Eamon Marray, she had almost finished her meal in the work canteen of a medical company in Newbridge in October 1997 when she saw the insect. She had to leave work and had been off ill for the final five weeks of her 11-week contract with the company. Her contract had not been renewed.
Ms Murphy, who wept when describing what had happened, said her doctor referred her to a psychiatrist who had treated her for nine months after the incident. She had been feeling very low and had lost weight after losing her appetite. She had been unable to eat out or any food cooked by anyone other than herself.
A psychiatrist, Dr Bernard Murphy, told the court Ms Murphy suffered a severe reaction to the incident and consistently broke down in tears when describing it.
Mr Declan Buckley, counsel for Campbell Catering, said his client had stringent procedures in relation to examination of food and had accepted liability from the very start.
An investigation had been carried out which revealed that the caterpillar had been buried deep inside a head of broccoli where it would not have been noticeable.