Judge found Dublin cyclist didn't disclose previous injury. He also took part in challenging race five weeks after claiming he suffered incapacitating injuries in cycling crash (File photo)
Dublin cyclist claimed €60,000 after hit and run
A Dublin man knocked off his bike was suing for €60,000 until the court was told he still took part in a challenging race and also failed to disclose a previous accident.
Graham Dunne (41) claimed he suffered incapacitating injuries when knocked off his bike in a hit and run.
But the Circuit Civil Court heard he did not tell the doctor who examined him he had been injured in a previous incident.
And the court was also told he had taken part in the Gaelforce West adventure race five weeks after he claimed he suffered incapacitating injuries.
Mr Justice Raymond Groarke rejected the claim for damages. He found Mr Dunne had given misleading information about his medical history.
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Graham Dunne suffered the previous injuries in an incident at the National Aquatic Centre. And he had not disclosed those injuries when being assessed after the cycling incident.
Mr Dunne of Castlecurragh Park, Blanchardstown, west Dublin, was knocked off his bike in a hit and run in Blanchardstown last July.
The driver fled and liability for any compensation fell to the Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland (MIBI). The bureau compensates those injured by untraced drivers.
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Graham Dunne claimed he sustained a series of injuries in the hit and run while cycling. He said he had injured his chest wall and spine.
Furthermore, he said he sustained injuries to his right side; specifically to his calf, forearm and elbow.
The court was told he had taken part in Gaelforce West weeks later. During that race participants did a triathlon of kayaking, cycling and hiking up Croagh Patrick.
Conor Kearney, the barrister representing the MIBI, told the court Mr Dunne was examined by sports injury specialist Dr Pat O’Neill.
Mr Kearney said that Mr Dunne, an engineer, had failed to tell Dr O’Neill about the injuries he had suffered in the aquatic centre.
He had sustained neck and head injuries and required stitching to a head wound. That case was settled out of court for €20,000, the court was told.
Mr Dunne denied he had concealed the medical information. But he said he may have been naive or stupid when neglecting to mention it.
However, Judge Groarke said Mr Dunne was well educated and intelligent. And the questions he was asked to answer were not complicated.
He said Mr Dunne had been asked to outline previous accidents or hospitalisations. He had only stated minor sports injuries from playing hurling and historical lacerations and a burn injury in childhood.
But there was no mention of the surgical examination and treatment after the aquatic centre incident.
Judge Groarke found Mr Dunne had deliberately not mentioned the previous injuries. In doing so he had misled Dr O’Neill and so lost credibility.
He dismissed the claim and ordered Mr Dunne to pay the MIBI’s legal costs.
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