News & Insights
€385k following death of Leitrim teacher
The High Court has approved a settlement of €385,000 in the case of a Co Leitrim man who died after a routine post-operative procedure at the Blackrock Clinic went wrong. An action by the man’s family against a consultant and the clinic was struck out with no liability admitted. However, the case against a surgical […]
Read More
Cerebral palsy teen awarded €4.5m
A Cork teenager who has cerebral palsy because of a lack of oxygen at birth has been awarded $4.5 million. She had taken legal action against the National Maternity Hospital in Dublin. Jessica O’Brien’s mother claimed the National Maternity Hospital in Dublin failed to continuously monitor the fetal heart rate of baby Jessica. The court […]
Read More
Whilst everyone else suffers, bonuses are paid to PIAB officials
DOZENS of civil servants and State officials have been paid bonuses — including one totalling €200,000 — over the past 12 months. The sums included almost 100 extra payments made to officials within the Department of Finance, while additional payments were also made to staff linked to four other Government departments. The disclosure will come […]
Read More
Girl struck by bus wing mirror awarded €20k
A 14-year-old schoolgirl, who was struck on the head by the wing mirror of a passing mini-bus, has been awarded €20,000 damages. Barrister Kevin Healy told the Circuit Civil Court that the impact with Megan Ledden’s forehead had smashed the mirror off the bus. He said Megan, of Glasnevin Avenue, Glasnevin, Dublin, was crossing on […]
Read More
EU: Group lawsuits to recover losses should be allowed
CONSUMERS who suffer food poisoning from contaminated products that breach EU safety standards or people overcharged for services by price-setting cartels should be able to take class-actions to recover their losses, according to the European Commission. They estimate consumers lose out on more than €20 billion a year in compensation from price-fixing and similar arrangements […]
Read More
Careless HSE blamed for bed delay
CARELESSNESS IN the HSE caused an eight-year delay in processing an elderly woman’s application for a public long-term care bed, Ombudsman and Information Commissioner Emily O’Reilly has found. An investigation published yesterday by Ms O’Reilly found the woman’s son, who had been left in debt by the delay, should be paid compensation of €56,500. The […]
Read More
Man gets 10m euro damages over sleepwalking naked libel
A businessman has been awarded 10m euro damages – the highest libel award in the history of the Irish state – after an incident in which he sleep-walked naked.
Read More
Slips and trips the main workplace risks
One in five people who slip and trip at work are absent for over a month, according to the Health and Safety Authority. The authority has just issued a new guide for employers to try to eradicate these accidents since they account for just under half of all awards against employers by the Injuries Board. […]
Read More
Working group on payments for catastrophic injuries set up
The President of the High Court, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, has established a working group to examine how damages are paid in catastrophic injuries cases. Here he outlines the background DAMAGES IN personal injury cases are awarded on a one-off or lump sum basis. In the vast majority of cases, the awards reflect an attempt […]
Read More
More than 4,000 adverse incidents occur in Irish hospitals each month
MORE THAN 4,000 adverse incidents occur in Irish hospitals each month, new figures show. The figures, which include major and minor incidents ranging from medication errors to slips, trips and falls, have been collated by the State Claims Agency. Its records show some 282,045 clinical incidents or near misses were reported by hospitals between January […]
Read More
No surge in weather claims, says body
Preliminary figures from InjuriesBoard.ie, the operating name of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, show that it awarded €200m to 8,645 personal injury claimants in 2009. The body said the average award of €23,163 in 2009 was 6% lower than in 2008, but 5% up on the 2007 average. Nearly three quarters of awards (72%) were […]
Read More
Injuries Board awards fall sharply
Compensation totalling €200 million was awarded in respect of 8,645 personal injury claimants last year, according to preliminary end of year data from the body that assesses claims for personal injuries. Nearly three quarters of awards (72 per cent) were for injuries from road traffic collisions while the remainder were split between workplace (11 per […]
Read More