A cyclist who was knocked from his bike in a crash with a Bus Eireann driver in Dublin has been awarded €124,000 in damages at the conclusion of a High Court hearing.
Bus Éireann claimed in court that the cyclist - Gearoid O’Daly (38) - had contributed to his own crash and injuries because he was not looking where was going.
The man driving the bus - now retired, Declan Sheridan - said the first he knew of the crash when was Mr O'Daly caught up with him at the next stop and remonstrated with him over what had happened.
The video footage recorded from the bus at the time was wiped over by the time it was sought and Mr Sheridan did not tell the company about the crash for two weeks, when the Garda had become involved.
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While there was conflicting evidence from medical experts over the level and nature of the pain Mr O'Daly continued to suffer almost six years after the accident, Mr Justice Michael Hanna said the account given to the court by the victim's medical specialist had to take precedence.
The judge also said he believed Mr O'Daly's account of what had happened on the day of the accident, at Custom House Quay, Dublin, on June 8th, 2016. He also believed the crash had been caused by a momentary lapse on the part of the driver and made an award of €124,000 to Mr O'Daly.
Of that sum, €100,000 was general damages and €24,795 in special damages, which include the cost of treatments and therapies Mr O’Grady required and the bus overtook him and encroached into the bus lane he was in, knocking him from his bike.
Mr O'Daly, a bank official from Heuston South Quarter, Dublin 8, suffered a fractured wrist, injuries to his elbow and ankle and abrasions in the crash.
More to come.
