Man in failed €60,000 claim ‘forgot’ crash that led to suspended sentence

A man who attacked a taxi driver before crashing his car, told a judge in a failed €60,000 damages claim he forgot the incident had taken place despite being given a three-year suspended sentence over it.

Shane English, counsel for Axa Insurance and van driver Patrick Quinn, said Eric Norton (26) failed on three occasions to attend medical examinations and when he did turn up, by order of a court, he listed differing injuries.

Mr Norton, an unemployed fork-lift driver, of Cromcastle Court, Kilmore, Dublin, sued Mr Quinn, of Brierfield, Ballinasloe, Co Galway, over personal injuries he received in a collision between his mother’s car and Mr Quinn’s vehicle on the Swords Road in April 2016.

He told Mr English, who appeared at the Circuit Civil Court with Liz Lyone of Hayes McGrath Solicitors, that Mr Quinn drove into the side of his mother’s car. Liability was admitted in the case and Mr Norton was called to give evidence of his injuries and treatment following the accident.

When he told Judge Jacqueline Linnane he had not been involved in any previous traffic incidents, Mr English brought up the case of Mr Norton’s attack on the taxi driver, his theft of the car and his subsequent driving it into a gate, which caused €6,000 damage to the vehicle.

In a report to court, Mr Norton’s doctor said he did not seek any treatment for his injuries following his initial medical examination.

Mr English told the court that Mr Norton misled the court in numerous ways in the hearing to assess damages and he asked that his claim be dismissed.

Judge Linnane, striking out the claim and awarding Axa its legal costs against him, said doctors were dependent on people being up front with them.