A man who developed posttraumatic stress disorder after a 40-foot-long articulated lorry demolished his 200-year-old stone cottage on the Dublin-Belfast road was awarded £73,569 in damages at the High Court yesterday.
The lorry, owned by Lagan Transport Ltd, destroyed the home of Mr Patrick Finnegan (45) at Delvin Bridge, Gormanston, Co Meath, on January 2nd, 1997. Mr Finnegan was at the other end of the cottage at the time. Medical evidence was given that he developed post-traumatic stress disorder shortly after the incident.
A solicitor for the company said in an affidavit that the lorry went out of control after it struck a wheel on the road.