A judge has cut the compensation awarded to an injured cyclist, saying she had contributed to her own injuries by not wearing a helmet on the day of the crash. The cyclist was close-passed by a truck driver, whose vehicle made contact with her resulting in her crashing from her bike. The trucker then drove away from the scene in Dublin and was never traced.
Judge Colin Daly of Dublin Circuit Civil Court ruled because the cyclist was not wearing a helmet on the day, she had contributed to the level of injury she had sustained. Had she worn a helmet, it would have minimised her injuries, he said. On that basis, the level of compensation awarded to her by the court was reduced by 20 per cent.
The 22-year-old cyclist, Raissa Lopes De Andrade Aquino, was initially awarded €20,000, reduced to €16,000 because she was not wearing a helmet. She took her case against the Motor Insurance Bureau of Ireland, which victims of road traffic crashes can sue in cases involving uninsured or untraced drivers.
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The court was told Ms Lopes was cycling at the junction of Portland Row and North Amiens Street in Dublin's north inner city, on July 26th, 2018, when the incident occurred. She said a driver in a large truck veered to his left on the approach to traffic lights, brushing her on her right.
This contact caused her to lose control of her bike and she crashed as a result. Ms Lopes, who works as a waitress and has an address in Dublin's south inner city, suffered concussion as well as soft tissue injuries to her arm, shoulder and face.
She was taken by ambulance to the Mater Hospital, waiting for four hours to be seen before undergoing treatment or observation for seven hours due to her concussion, which was her most serious injury. Judge Daly found Ms Lopes to be an honest witness who had given an accurate account of how she sustained her injuries.
