Legal News

Our client was driving in Swords and came to a T junction; he stopped at a stop sign and indicated to turn right. There was a car coming from the right and the driver of that car turned her car and hit our client on the side, pushing him into another car which was to his left. Both drivers got out of their cars and exchanged details. Our client tried to drive away after the exchange of details but couldn’t as the back wheel had been damaged. The accident happened in April 2014 and the injuries were primarily to our client’s back. The case was settled for €10,800 and the sum was received in April 2015.

Our client was employed as a general operative, but effectively, never received a contract, nor did she ever receive any training. She worked on a machine and whilst working on that machine, a sensor broke. This had happened before and she went around to fix it. There were bottles falling off the machinery so she had had to move quickly. There was a worker on the other side of the bottle belt, but he had been new to the job.  Our client believed it may have been his first day. He could not have been expected to know how to fix this. Our client, on the other hand, was never trained, but had learned by default how to fix this particular sensor. There are normally two pallets alongside the belt on her side. These are for putting bottles on. They have cardboard on top of them. For some reason, on this particular day, there was a third pallet, which effectively blocked her route completely. She had to stand on the third one to run around to the other side of the belt, and whilst doing so, her foot slipped and she suffered muscle damage to her leg. Her supervisors came and made some comment to the effect that somebody had kicked her and tried to play it down. Our client ended up being out of work for two weeks.

On the 5 December 2012, one of our clients, driver “A”, a Russian speaking Latvian with an address in Dublin 15, was on the M50 between the Finglas and Blanchardstown exits.  A Ford Transit van, driven by driver “C”, began behaving very erratically and pushed driver “B”, without contacting his vehicle, out of the way.  He then suddenly pulled in front of our client, driver “A”, causing a collision.  Driver “C” gave his details and a mobile number.  Driver “B” gave a statement to the Garda and put the blame squarely on driver “C”.  Our client, driver “A”, needed to get his car back on the road and said the pre-accident value was €5,000.00 but was a write off.  Our client suffered an injury to his right shoulder from the seatbelt.  After the accident he went home and began feeling nauseous.  He had pain in his back, neck and said that part of the issue was that the airbag went off in his car.  He had had no previous claims.  The Circuit Court found 100% in our client’s favour and he was awarded €15,000.00 plus costs.