Man paralysed at Forty Foot gets €2m in case settlement

A former music industry executive who is quadraplegic and confined to a wheelchair as a result of injuries received in a diving accident at the Forty Foot, Sandycove, Dublin has received an estimated €2 million in a settlement of his claim for damages.

A case taken by Mr Olan McGowan (37), Durham Road, Sandymount, against Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and Sandycove Bathers Association was settled without admission of liability, the High Court heard yesterday.

Last month, Mr Justice de Valera made a preliminary finding that the local authority was 80 per cent responsible and the bathers' group 20 per cent responsible for the accident, which occurred at 5 p.m. on July 30th, 1995.

The settlement, reached with Irish Public Bodies, the insurance agency for Government Departments and local authorities, is understood to be in the region of €2 million plus costs.

A spokesman for the Sandycove Bathers Association said it was unable to say what effect the settlement would have on its operations. "We are all in the dark about this at the moment," he said.

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council said it was also unable to comment on the settlement, although it confirmed that it would be putting up warning signs at the Forty Foot following the case.

In his preliminary ruling, Mr Justice de Valera held that, in failing to erect signs warning of the dangers of a rocky outcrop at the Forty Foot, the two defendants had acted with "reckless disregard".

If a warning sign had been erected at all times, the defendants would have been absolved and the tragedy would never have occurred, the judge said.

Mr McGowan did not wish to comment yesterday. "It's a personal matter," he said.

A former employee of Sony music, Mr McGowan now works as national advocacy and media co-ordinator with the Irish Wheelchair Association, and recently presented an RTÉ radio programme on disability issues, Outside the Box.

The outcome of his case contrasts with that of Dubliner Mr Garry Mulligan (33) who unsuccessfully sued Australian authorities after being paralysed in a diving accident there in 1999.