Sisters awarded €40k due to neck pain nearly a decade after collision
Ray Managh
Two sisters who told a court they have to take occasional breaks from college studies because of neck pain more than eight years after a traffic collision will split an award of just over €40,000 in damages against a client of AXA Insurance.
Sophia and Grace Mohan were awarded damages of €19,200 and €21,500 by Judge Roderick Maguire on Thursday. The girls were aged 10 and 12 respectively when their mother, Ms Molly Slattery’s car was rear-ended at traffic lights in Sandyford, Dublin, in June 2017.
Barrister Niall Mooney told the Circuit Civil Court the sisters, who live at Foxrock Manor, Foxrock, Dublin 18, fell into a category of protracted personal injuries compensation guidelines “where there remained an increased vulnerability to further trauma or permanent minimal symptoms."
Judge Maguire heard that Grace, currently studying engineering at Trinity College, Dublin, and a sailing instructor, had also injured her right arm in the accident and suffered from headaches. She had since developed an anxiety about travelling in cars.
Mr Mooney, who appeared with Boland Solicitors, Kilkenny, said Sophia was now 18, having reached her majority in July last, and Grace was 20. He said both still complained of neck pain, particularly when studying, and had to take frequent breaks from their desks.
Their mother has already settled, for an undisclosed sum, a damages claim against AXA client and motorist Anna Maria Rekas, whose car rear-ended Ms Slattery’s vehicle and whose address was stated as AXA Insurance, Wolfe Tone House, Wolfe Tone Street, Dublin.
Sharbee Morrin, counsel for Rekas and AXA, told the court the airbags in the car had not deployed, and the collision was a moderate one. Both plaintiffs had not visited a doctor in relation to the accident until October 15th, 2017, more than four months after the collision.
He said that while both girls had been found to have neck pain, they had only attended for two or three sessions of physiotherapy with no follow-up x-rays or CT scans. Both girls had told the court they had continued to participate in their sports hobbies and had used anti-inflammatory gels prior to activities.
The court heard they had firstly visited a local doctor in October 2017 and Dr Chi Chi Lee at Clare Street Medical Centre in 2019. Both plaintiffs told Mr Morrin they had attended Dr Diarmuid Scully at Foxrock, in October past, for medical reports for the court.
Mr Mooney said that, while not criticising the girls’ mother with regard to attendances with doctors, they were dealing with cases involving children, and they had used gels and creams recommended by their doctor.
Judge Maguire said that in both cases, the protracted injuries may be permanent, and he accepted the evidence of both plaintiffs, who had been advised by their physiotherapists to follow exercise regimes, about their symptoms.
