Judge dismisses taxi driver's €60,000 claim for damages

Ray Managh

A judge has told a taxi driver there was a bit of spoofing going on about minimal impact collisions before throwing out his €60,000 damages claim for alleged severe personal injury.

Judge James O’Donohoe said he was not really impressed with Barry Griffin’s claim regarding what was a most minor impact, similar to what was happening in traffic every day of the week.

Mr Griffin (37), of Raheen Park, Ballyfermot, Dublin, had sued Annette Moran, of Errigal Road, Drimnagh, Dublin, who was the owner of a car being driven by her daughter, Deborah Moran, following a collision on Kylemore Road, Dublin, on February 2nd, 2019.

Deborah told the Circuit Civil Court she accepted her car had run into the back of Griffin’s car in traffic, but said there had been no damage to either vehicle and she had not heard a bang. There had not been any injuries and Mr Griffin had told her he was fine, she claimed.

Her sister Karen, a passenger in Ms Moran’s car, said she was unaware of the incident until the car's engine was turned off and they were approached by Mr Griffin, who told them he had never been involved "in anything like this before".

She told barrister Karl Finnegan, who appeared with Fergal White of Coughlan White Solicitors for Annette Moran and Liberty Insurance, that Mr Griffin had said at the scene he was not injured.

The court heard Mr Griffin, who had been involved in another collision in 2018, less than a year before the incident with the Morans, had claimed to have been fully recovered prior to the 2019 crash.

Judge O’Donohoe said it transpired in evidence that he was still attending his GP about the 2018 collision when the second had occurred.

"I accept the evidence of Ms Moran that Mr Griffin had said at the scene he hadn’t been injured and had added he wasn’t used to this kind of thing when he clearly was," Judge O’Donohoe said.

He dismissed the claim by Mr Griffin, who had alleged he had been shocked following the collision and had experienced pain the full length of his spine with back and neck pain radiating to his scalp.

Eight months after the collision he claimed to have been making progress but still experiencing flare-ups of neck and lower back pain after driving and prolonged sitting.

Mr Griffin told Mr Finnegan about having allegedly been thrown back and forward in the collision. He claimed he "did feel it" and later that he had physiotherapy because "I was sore".

Dismissing Mr Griffin’s claim with an order for costs against him, Judge O'Donohoe said the Morans had been very surprised about the personal injuries claim and usually when a defendant turns up to give evidence, they obviously feel very strongly about it.