Woman caught up in post office raid loses claim for £30,000 damages

A WOMAN who claimed her life was threatened during an armed robbery at a post office has lost her £30,000 claim for damages against…

A WOMAN who claimed her life was threatened during an armed robbery at a post office has lost her £30,000 claim for damages against the sub-postmaster and An Post.

Ms Elizabeth Fitzpatrick (40), of Sheridan Court, Dorset Street Dublin, told the Circuit Civil Court she was grabbed by one of three men during a robbery at Berkeley Road Post Office in June 1994 and a screwdriver was pushed against her throat.

She told her counsel, Mr Martin Gleeson, the raider put a knee in her back and held her against the anti-bandit screen while screaming at the sub-postmaster, Mr John Maher, to open the door or he would "give it to her".

Judge James Carroll heard when Mr Maher opened the door the raiders grabbed whatever loose cash was available and ran off.

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Mr Hugh Byrne, a former Garda crime prevention officer, said the post office was part of a mini-market" and there were no warnings to would-be criminals outside the shop that there was an anti-bandit screen and time-delay locks. on safes. There was a warning in the post office area of the premises.

He felt when Ms Fitzpatrick was put at risk the loose cash should have been immediately pushed through the service hatch to the criminals. In cases of robbery personal safety was of major importance.

Judge Carroll acceded to applications by Ms Miriam Malone, counsel for An Post and Mr Padraig Dwyer, for Mr ,Maher, for a dismissal on the basis that Ms Fitzpatrick had failed to prove ,negligence against their clients.

He held the damages suffered by Ms Fitzpatrick were caused by the entirely independent voluntary act of a third party.

Judge Carroll said he was not prepared to manufacture another link in the chain of liability that would extend a duty of care and protection to any member of the public who might happen to be in the presence of some ill-guarded valuables and injured when the owner of those valuables was attacked.

He said the first thing the raiders did when they entered was to "collar" Ms Fitzpatrick. Mr Maher was obviously shocked and it would have taken some moments for him to recover. When he did he opened the door.

He questioned what might have happened had the raiders arrived with an automatic weapon and fired a burst of gunfire to create maximum terror.

He felt An Post and the sub-postmaster would not be liable in damages to a pedestrian injured while passing on the other side of the street.

It was tempting to think there were formulae which could be applied to every particular set of circumstances but this was not so. A ,certain pragmatism had to intervene at some stage.