An unemployed truck driver has been awarded €42,000 general and special damages arising from a work accident in which a forklift truck knocked him over, resulting in a foot injury.
Mr Justice John Quirke said it was inappropriate to award damages for loss of earnings as it appeared the plaintiff, David Grant had chosen not to provide any reliable evidence to assess his earnings before or after his injury. This was because much of his earnings prior to his injury resulted from the “black economy” where he earned about €5,000 annually but had not returned those earnings to Revenue.
