A DUBLIN woman has been awarded €65,638 damages at the High Court arising from an incident in which her car went on fire days after it had been serviced.
Eileen Reilly (67), of Grange Park Rise, Raheny, Dublin, had sued DG Motors Ltd, of Navan Road, Dublin, which had serviced her four-year-old Opel Astra Coupé on April 11th, 2005.
She alleged DG was negligent because an oil filter housing was left loose which led to oil coating the front of the exhaust pipe and causing the fire. Liability was admitted, and the case was before the court for assessment of damages.
Yesterday, Mr Justice Michael Hanna ruled Ms Reilly had suffered post-traumatic stress to a moderate degree as a result of the incident.
He also found a cough from which she had suffered was exacerbated by the incident.
The court heard that on April 16th, 2005, five days after the car was serviced, Ms Reilly was a front passenger in the car as it was driven by her son Fergus through Raheny village.
They noticed smoke inside the car, and initially thought this came from “a banger” car in front of them. However, they realised it was coming from their own vehicle when the car started filling up with smoke.
They drove into a nearby car park, where Fergus opened the bonnet and the engine was on fire.
Yesterday Mr Justice Hanna awarded Ms Reilly €40,000 in general damages to date and €20,000 for damages into the future, along with €5,638 in special damages.