Posted: June 11th, 2015
A young man, who was injured after a hit-and-run, has been awarded an undisclosed settlement of compensation after a High Court judge assigned him three-quarters contributory negligence.
On the 2nd November 2012, when Anthony Driver – aged twenty-five from Co. Wicklow – was at the junction between Meath Road and Sidmonton Avenue waiting for a friend to give him a lift home. However, as he was waiting, he was hit by an unidentified car.
Though unable to remember much of what happened after he was hit, Anthony does recall that the vehicle that hit him briefly stopped but then drove off without calling for an ambulance, or even checking that Anthony was injured.
Anthony was discovered later that evening by a passing Garda who rushed him to a nearby hospital. There, Anthony was diagnosed with extensive internal injuries – including a lacerated liver – as well as fractures to his ribs and spine.
Anthony spent four days in an intensive care unit, and a further five days in hospital before his discharge. However, he still experienced pain in his back and difficulty eating because of the accident.
As the driver who hit Anthony was never identified by the Gardaí, Anthony proceeded to make a claim for hit-and-run compensation with the Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland (MIBI). This body compensates those injured in an accident where those at fault cannot be traced or are uninsured.
The claim for compensation was contested by the MIBI, who said that – as Anthony was descried as “grossly intoxicated” by the Garda that found him – it was highly likely that he was responsible for his own injuries through lack of care.
Negotiations between the parties were unable to determine liability for Anthony’s injuries. As such, Anthony was granted authorisation by the Injuries Board to pursue his claim for hit-and-run compensation through the courts. Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns heard the case earlier this month at Dublin’s High Court.
During the hearing, Anthony testified that he was indeed drunk when he was hit by the unidentified vehicle, causing the MIBI to argue again that some of the liability should be assigned to him.
After a brief pause, Judge Kearns ruled that Anthony should be assigned seventy-five per cent contributory negligence for the hit-and-run accident. He then awarded Anthony an undisclosed settlement of compensation.
Categories: Hit and Run Accidents
