Archive for June, 2012

Man Awarded Workplace Injury Compensation for Fall from Scaffolding

June 28th, 2012. By Compensation News.

A man who fell three metres from a scaffolding tower while helping his brother make repairs to the roof of his house has been awarded 750,000 Euros in workplace injury compensation for fall from scaffolding after the settlement of his claim was approved in the High Court.

Patrick Rayner from Mitchelstown, County Cork, was helping to replace slates on his brother´s roof in Killmallock, County Limerick when the accident occurred during heavy rain in December 2008. As he leaned over the top of the scaffolding tower erected to provide access to the roof, Patrick fell three metres to the ground, sustaining a fractured skull injury.

At the High Court, Ms Justice Mary Irvine was told that as a consequence of his injury Patrick has lost his hearing, has a deficit of his taste and smell senses and still suffers from frequent headaches. The judge was also told that through his spouse, Julia, Patrick made a claim for fall from scaffolding compensation; alleging that the scaffolding tower had not been secured to a permanent structure and that his brother had failed to make adequate provision for Patrick´s health and safety.

As liability for Patrick´s injuries had not been argued, and a settlement of 750,000 Euros had been agreed, the case was before Ms Justice Mary Irvine for final approval of damages only. After hearing the full details of how the accident occurred, Ms Justice Mary Irvine approved the settlement of workplace compensation for fall from scaffolding, stating that this was a case of the deeds of a Good Samaritan concluding in tragedy.

Fall in Argos Compensation Awarded in Court

June 22nd, 2012. By Compensation News.

A man, who slipped and fell on a discarded wet wipe in Argos, injuring his shoulder in the process, has been awarded 17,500 Euros fall in Argos compensation at Dublin´s Circuit Civil Court.

Declan Conroy from Dublin had been shopping in the Ilac Centre branch of Argos in Henry Street in May 2008 when the accident occurred. While in the queue for the counter to order a lawnmower, he slipped on a wet wipe which had fallen on the floor and fell – severely damaging his shoulder.

After receiving medical treatment, Declan made a fall in Argos compensation claim against the store – alleging that their method of checking the floor for potential hazards was lacking and he had suffered an injury as a consequence.

Argos denied liability for Declan’s injury; contending that CCTV footage revealed the presence of the wet wipe just six minutes before Declan´s accident and insisting that staff could not be required to constantly monitor the condition of the floor surface in such a historically low-risk store.

However, a forensic engineer – testifying on Declan´’s behalf – told the court court that, due to the extra footfall in the queuing area where Declan´s accident occurred, a higher level of attention should be applied. It was also revealed that five minutes before the wet wipe first appeared on camera, CCTV footage showed a woman moving a baby buggy through the area.

Judge Jacqueline Linnane at the Circuit Civil Court decided that, taking everything into account, it was the woman with the baby buggy who was responsible for discarding the wet wipe and, as more than ten minutes would have elapsed between the slipping hazard being present and Declan sustaining his injury, Argos was liable. Declan was awarded 17,500 Euros fall in Argos compensation plus costs.

Whiplash Claim Aggravated Damages to be Paid by Insurers

June 19th, 2012. By Compensation News.

An insurance company has been ordered to pay whiplash claim aggravated damages after failing to pursue allegations of collusion against the claimant.

Mr Justice Matthew Deery made the order against the AXA insurance company after it had accused the injured victim of a rear-end accident – James O’Sullivan, of Clane, County Kildare – of colluding with a defence witness in order to support his whiplash injury compensation claim.

The judge was told how the negligent driver in the case – Gary Reilly, of Ballyfermot, County Dublin – had sworn an affidavit concerning the events of September 27, 2008, when Reilly´s taxi rear-ended O´Sullivan vehicle in Eirhouse in County Dublin.

However Mr Justice Matthew Deery said that the accusation had not been pursued at the hearing and directed that AXA and Reilly pay aggravated damages of 3,000 Euros to O´Sullivan for the manner in which they had defended the whiplash injuries claim in addition to the award of 7,750 Euros for whiplash injury.

Heart Surgery Medical Negligence Compensation Awarded by Court

June 16th, 2012. By Compensation News.

A court in Pasadena, California, has awarded a woman who grew up with an avoidable heart condition due to “baffling” post-natal surgery one million dollars in heart surgery medical negligence compensation.

The woman, who was not named in court, was born in the Huntingdon Hospital in May 1979 with a heart problem. An operation the day following her delivery was supposed to repair the septal wall which separated the left and right chambers of the heart; however the Los Angeles County Superior Court heard that during the operation the vena cava artery – the artery which carries de-oxygenised blood to the heart – was connected to the wrong side of the septal wall and, as a consequence, the flow of blood was directed into the heart´s left chamber instead of the right.

Due to the surgical error, the girl grew up with permanent oxygen deprivation which caused hypoxia, physical disabilities and other health problems, and it was not until 2007 that the cause of the problem was identified. The court heard that the claimant had surgery shortly before her thirtieth birthday in 2009 to correct the problem, and subsequently sought legal advice about making a claim for heart surgery medical negligence compensation in relation to the initial error.

The defence for the negligent surgeon – Dr Alan Gazzaniga – argued that it was too late to make a claim for heart surgery medical negligence compensation according to the Statute of Limitations; however the claimant´s counsel successfully argued that the woman could not have been expected to known that her heart condition was the result of Dr Gazzaniga´s medical negligence prior to the discovery of the error in 2007 – with the claim subsequently made within the Statute of Limitations after the discovery of the negligent heart surgery.

In court, the physician who corrected the heart mistake described Dr. Gazzaniga´s work in court as “baffling” and “incorrect” and along with two other cardiothoracic surgeons, a cardiologist, a paediatric cardiologist and a vocational rehabilitation specialist, argued that the woman´s heart condition and subsequent problems could have been avoided had it not been for the negligence of Dr. Gazzaniga.

After three weeks of litigation, the jury at the Los Angeles County Superior Court in Pasadena returned a verdict in favour of the claimant and awarded her one million dollars in heart surgery medical negligence compensation, having found Dr. Gazzaniga guilty of medical negligence by demonstrating a lack of skill – or the ability to demonstrate that skill – during the first surgical operation.