Kerrill Lindsay who sustained injuries to his knee and chest in a road traffic accident at Gurteen, Ballinasloe, Co. Galway in August 2006 has been awarded damages of €132,000 by the High Court.
Mr. Lindsay was a seat belted front seat passenger in a car being driven by David Finnerty.
The Plaintiff gave evidence as to what had happened in the accident. He stated that as Mr. Finnerty was driving along the road leading towards his home he was travelling at an estimated speed of 50mph. The car suddenly veered into the bank on the left hand side whereupon Mr. Finnerty seemed to lose control of his vehicle which spun around causing the rear portion of the vehicle to hit a wall on the opposite side of the road ending up at an adjacent tree but facing the direction which Mr. Kelly was travelling. Mr. Kelly’s vehicle then struck Mr. Finnerty’s vehicle to the rear.
Following the accident the Plaintiff was able to get out of his car but had sustained a laceration to his right knee and had abdominal pain. The Plaintiff lost a lot of weight following the accident. A laparoscopy which was performed in October 2006 revealed an obstruction to the small bowel. He was admitted to hospital in February 2007 where he underwent a laparotomy and a small section of his bowel was removed. The Plaintiff made a successful recovery, regained his former weight but continued to suffer from intermittent rumbling in his abdomen. The Plaintiff was out of work for 35 weeks on and off. He tried to continue with his work from time to time but was unable to do so and was eventually laid off due to the downturn in the economy.
The Judge awarded general damages in respect of the knee and abdominal injuries in the sum of €75,000 and in respect of future pain and suffering he assessed damages to be €7,000. Special damages (out of pocket expenses) were agreed in the sum of €50,428 making a total award of €132,428.
