A cyclist is suing Dublin City Council over injuries allegedly sustained when his bike struck a defect in the road surface.
Patrick Sheeran, of Bellevue Park Avenue, Dublin, says he was thrown off his bike when it hit a surface defect on Pearse Street in the city centre on June 13th, 2014.
He says he fractured his elbow, which required surgery and the insertion of two plates and screws. He pleads he has a memory deficit and eyesight deterioration due to the impact to his head.
Mr Sheehan claims Dublin City Council was guilty of negligence because it failed to properly repair the surface, creating a hazard in the form of the road dropping vertically.
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The council says there was no misfeasance on its part and if there was any road defect this was due to normal wear and tear over a period of years.
The details of the case were outlined in the judgment of Ms Justice Niamh Hyland, who ruled this week on Mr Sheeran’s pre-trial request.
He wanted the court to direct the council to share with him all records relating to all works of design, construction, repair and upkeep of the relevant section of Pearse Street for the eight years leading to the 2014 alleged event.
Ms Justice Hyland was quite satisfied discovery of documents should have been made, as it goes to the whether the council had carried out works at the relevant location, which is a “key issue” of the case.
The records are highly relevant to the question of misfeasance and will be an important issue in determining liability, she said.
However, eight years seemed excessive to her, so she directed disclosure for the five years before the alleged accident.
The reference to the “relevant section of Pearse Street” is “unacceptably vague”, so she asked the parties to submit by agreement a precise description of the area proposed.
Ms Justice Hyland said she will make the discovery order cover five years, once the parties agree on the description of the relevant area.
