A WOMAN who sought some €750,000 in damages over injuries in a car collision will get €60,000 after a High Court judge yesterday described her claim as exaggerated.
The president of the High Court, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, awarded Bernadette White (51), a Health Service Executive (HSE) home support organiser, a total of €91,000 damages.
However he directed that €31,000 of that sum be paid out to the HSE to repay that body for money paid by it to Ms White while she was out of work.
As part of her claim, Ms White, who alleged she could not return to work as a result of injuries suffered during the crash, had claimed some €386,567 for loss of earnings into the future. Mr Justice Kearns remarked that such a sum was more appropriate to a paraplegic case.
Ms White, River Row, Moville, Co Donegal, had brought her action against John Morrow, Magherbeg, Fanad, Co Donegal, over an accident on April 28th, 2005.
The case was before the court for assessment of damages only and Joseph McGettigan had argued against the amount of damages sought.
Michael Carson, for Ms White, said she was driving her car at Magherdrummond, Milford, on April 28th, 2005, on the main Ramelton to Milford road when Mr Morrow’s car crossed on to the wrong side of the road and into her path.
There was a violent collision, her car was a write-off and she suffered severe personal injuries, he said.
Ms White said the defendant’s car struck the left side of her car.
She was shocked but did not go to the doctor until the following day, when she felt terrible.
Her doctor approved her going on a holiday for health reasons but she collapsed on the aircraft on the way home. She later attended 40 physiotherapy sessions and had headaches.
She was advised to take early retirement and retired last August. She was advised not to work again by her HSE occupational health doctor.
In his judgment, Mr Justice Kearns said this was “a worrying case” as Ms White appeared to believe she had suffered a much more serious injury than he believed she had.
He believed she suffered a soft tissue injury which could have cleared up in a relatively short period of time and allowed her to return to work within some 18 months.
He also believed a provision whereby five-sixths of a HSE employee’s wages are paid while they are out of work with a personal injury played a significant role in ensuring Ms White was not minded to make the required rehabilitative effort which he believed could have been made.
The judge found there was significant exaggeration of the scale of injuries involved.
He noted that a photo dated May 16th, 2006, showed Ms White dealing with washing on a clothesline and raising her arm 90 degrees without any apparent restriction.
Referring to the evidence of medical experts, the judge said an investigation failed to find any significant spinal cord compression.