The family of a young girl who took a legal action over injuries they said their daughter sustained in a hit and run by a motorist while she was cycling have reluctantly accepted a settlement of €30,000 in the courts in Dublin. The court heard they were accepting the settlement "with a heavy heart" because there were possible "risks" associated with the case going to a full hearing.
It was said in court that if the case did go to a full hearing there would be conflicting evidence about whether a call was made for an ambulance by the girl's mother. It was also stated in court evidence would be heard claiming the bike was unavailable for inspection by gardaí and that the girl was not allowed to speak to gardaí after the incident.
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It was also suggested in court there was CCTV at the site where members of the family lived but that no footage was available to gardaí when they investigated the crash. The court heard while all of these matters may have innocent explanations, the family had agreed to settle before a full hearing.
The High Court was told that in August, 2015, the mother of the girl was walking near the family home near Tara, Co Meath, with her daughter, who was aged 7 at the time, cycling behind her. As they made their way to get ice cream, the family said a driver knocked the girl from the bike.
The girl's mother said the driver, of a of dark coloured car, pulled into the hard shoulder a short distance away. However, the driver was never traced and so the girl, through her parents, sued the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland’s (MIBI). The bureau is funded by insurance companies and is sued in cases involving unidentified drivers.
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The injured girl's mother said she called an ambulance on the day but, the court heard, the family then decided to drive the girl to hospital themselves. When she was examined at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital it was confirmed the girl had a fractured elbow, which required surgery, and that the child was in distress and pain.
Jonathan Kilfeather SC said the injuries the girl sustained, and which were diagnosed by medical staff, were consistent with falling from the bike, with an outstretched arm, in a crash which was caused by a driver.
The court was told if the case went to full hearing, an ambulance service member was due to give evidence stating no call was made to the service about the crash on the day, though the girl's mother said her recollection was that she did make the call.
The court was also told evidence would be heard the injured girl was not permitted to speak to gardaí after the incident and when gardaí tried to locate the bike to examine it, the girl's father said he had destroyed it. Information also suggested the girl's grandfather had a CCTV system covering the entrance to the site where they lived but no footage was available to aid the investigation into the crash.
While the court was told there may be completely innocent explanations for these matters, they may also present risks for the legal action if it went to a full hearing as an adverse view may be taken of them by the court. As a result, the family was agreeing to settle for €30,000.
