JUDGE Dominic Lynch ruled yesterday in the Circuit Civil Court that a man knocked down and injured by a motorist, who had been forced to a stop by a line of protesters, was 90 per cent to blame for his predicament.
Mr Paul Spenser, (50) a labourer of Peter Place, Charlemont Street, Dublin, had sued the Motor Insurers' Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) for £30,000 damages. He said he and others had set up a road block to protest against motorists taking short cuts through side streets. A motorist drove into his shins, knocked him on his back and then drove off.
Judge Lynch held that the motorist had been negligent but apportioned contributory negligence to Mr Spenser at 90 per cent because he had stood in the middle of the road. He awarded him £8,000 damages, reduced to £800, and made no order as to costs.