A ROADWORKER who was hit by a car and trapped under it in a trench for 20 minutes has secured €1 million in settlement of his High Court claim for damages.
Thomas Doyle (38), Carrigview, Tolerton, Ballickmoyler, Carlow, suffered serious head and leg injuries which have left him with short-term memory loss and have restricted his ability to express himself. An application is to be made to have him made a ward of court.
He had sued Paul Beggan, personal representative of the estate of the late Dorinda Hickey, Merrion Village, Ballsbridge, Dublin, who was the driver of the car in the incident at Rock Road, Blackrock, on November 11th, 2004.
The case came before the president of the High Court, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, to consider whether the court should approve a settlement offer of €1 million.
Vincent Foley, for Mr Doyle, said his client was working in a trench when the car hit him, trapping him. The car’s exhaust had landed on his thigh, leaving him with “ferocious burns”. He was trapped for about 20 minutes before he was released by an ambulance crew, it was claimed.
It was alleged Mr Doyle’s injuries were the result of Ms Hickey’s negligence in failing to heed warning signs about the roadworks, failing to properly follow the road layout as shown by traffic cones and failing to take proper evasive action to avoid the crash. After the incident, Mr Doyle was brought to Beaumont Hospital where he underwent brain surgery before he was transferred to the National Rehabilitation Hospital, Dún Laoghaire. When transferred, he was unable to remember his address or date of birth, had difficulty with finding words and required medication and a programme in speech and language therapy, it was claimed.
Mr Foley said Mr Doyle’s family had thought long and hard about the €1 million offer, and it had been decided to recommend it to the court. Mr Foley said the extraordinary thing was the extent of Mr Doyle’s recovery. While he still had short-term memory and language difficulties, he now had a hobby raising game birds on his brother’s farm, where he went shooting regularly. He played poker three nights a week and had passed a driving test enabling him to attend doctors’ appointments.
His recovery had been greatly assisted by his wife and two daughters, aged 10 and 7, counsel said. If anything was to happen to his wife, it was unlikely he would manage alone, counsel added.
Mr Justice Kearns said it was a terrible accident, but a good settlement. He ordered the €1 million, less a €70,000 payout to Mr Doyle’s wife for past care plus medical cost payments so far, be lodged in court pending proceedings to have him made a ward of court.