A cyclist who sued an Irish county council after he claimed he crashed because of a pothole in the road has settled his case out of court on the third day of the High Court hearing.
A man suing for damages after he claimed he suffered a brain injury after crashing due to a pothole in a Co Galway road has settled his action on undisclosed terms.
The case had been proceeding at the High Court but on the third day of the hearing yesterday Mr Justice Anthony Barr was told the case could be struck out because it had been settled between the parties.
The terms of the settlement were not disclosed to the court meaning the compensation, if any, paid to cyclist Nathan King are unknown.
King was a 16-year-old schoolboy at the time of the incidence in March, 2012, and was cycling home from hurling training when he hit “something” in the road.
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He told the High Court, in the first days of the hearing, he could recall falling but nothing else until he woke him in hospital.
Now aged 21 years and from Baile an Choiste, Castlegar, Co Galway, he was suing the council over the condition of the road at Parkmore Hill.
He said he hit a hole in the road. There was a recessed manhole in the road with potholes around it.
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He suffered a brain haemorrhage, was in a coma and required hospital treatment several weeks in hospital. The Galway man also fractured his thumb in the crash.
He claimed the council failed to insert a cover so road users would not hit the hole and also said the council failed to cordon off the area where he claimed a dangerous road surface caused him to crash.
The court was told he as an honours student before the crash and had hoped to pursue a career in the Army, which was not possible now.
Instead, since the crash “everything is a struggle, everything is difficult, everything is a challenge”.
The council had denied the claim and said Mr King was going too fast, could not see where he was cycling and was not wearing a helmet.
It also said because the hurley was being carried across Mr King’s handlebars he was responsible for the crash.
He was cycling home from hurling training in the dark at about 9.30pm and accepted he had no lights, was not wearing a helmet and had his hurl taped across his handlebars.
He accepted while there was a cycle lane, he was not on it though had used it earlier.
Garda Sheena Gill said she was at the scene of the incident and saw a manhole cover with potholes to the side of it. She also noted a skid mark from the manhole and saw what she believed was skin and hair on it.
Garda Gill said she had heard locally that the council had sent workers to the scene the following day to fix the pothole.
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