€35,000 awarded to woman over bus incident

A WOMAN has been awarded €35,000 by a High Court judge for minor injuries arising from an incident when a bus, on which she was…

A WOMAN has been awarded €35,000 by a High Court judge for minor injuries arising from an incident when a bus, on which she was travelling as a passenger, was struck by a car, causing the bus to collide with a Garda car.

Mr Justice Daniel Herbert said Ann Hegarty (57) had exaggerated the injuries she suffered from “a very minor trauma” and was “extremely lucky” to get anything at all. Because she did not deliberately mislead him, he would “let her get away with it”.

He had concluded, “with considerable hesitation”, that ongoing problems with Ms Hegarty’s weight and neck and her “incessant worrying” about litigation were the factors which probably caused her emotional and adjustment difficulties and led her to exaggerate her symptoms.