Accident claim success for fatal crash
It has been revealed that the families of two out of five people killed in a car accident which occurred in Donegal, have been awarded over 200,000 euro each in accident claims by the Irish High Court.
The crash happened in 2005, where five people died after a collision transpired because of a dangerous driver.
His car was on the wrong side of the road when he crashed into the victim’s vehicle at Quigley’s Point. He sustained severe personal injuries and is now in a wheelchair. He was sentenced to four years in jail.
Despite the payout, one of the mother’s of the deceased stated that the law should be changed to make it easier for families to claim accident compensation.
“Whenever anyone is killed like that you're entitled to damages, it's what's called 'tear money'. It wasn't about money for us, but you're entitled to be compensated for a loss like that, and for all the trauma you've been through.
“The barrister said to me that I hadn't been to the doctor, and he was more or less asking me how could I prove what I'd been through? I said to him, why should I be running to doctors to try and get compensation for something we're entitled to?
“He agreed with me, he said the law does need changing. I lost a son, my family was traumatised, and he is greatly missed,” she said.
In court, Joseph McGettigan, lawyer for two of the parents, from Meenagorey, Buncrana, said the incident was one of the worst to have ever occurred in the country. His clients had suffered severe mental distress and nervous shock as a result of the incident and the loss of their son.
Mr Justice Vivian Lavan furthered the court’s sympathy to all the families involved in the “terrible, tragic event”. He expressed how he hoped the compensation would go some way towards helping the families to achieve closure.
The claims were made under the Civil Liability Act and the plaintiffs had sought damages for alleged negligence and breach of duty by the defendant.
Crash central in Donegal
In similar news a road safety advocate has urged the local government to improve a road in Donegal, before somebody dies.
The local resident has warned that somebody will be killed unless the council acts fast and installs a turning lane to reduce busy traffic, outside Letterkenny.
The request comes after another two car accidents occurred within a mile of each other in the area. Mr Harry McCafferty called for the government to act, after four accidents have happened in five weeks.
“It is simple what has to be done. A right hand stacking lane to allow cars to turn right, if you're travelling towards Kilmacrennan, needs to be put in as soon as possible. At the minute cars are stopping on the main carriageway and they can't get across because there is no stacking lane.
“They should all be filtered into one right turning lane. Locals and business people in the area are hopping mad about this, particularly after the serious accident last Saturday. The speed limit also needs to be reduced from the existing 100kph to 80kph,” he added.
Deputy Joe McHugh, responded to the criticism: “The Minister's Department, not the NRA, should carry out a safety audit on this stretch of road. Only then would the Minister gather an insight into the problems associated with this stretch of road and many similar roads throughout the country.”
Updated on 12/2/2009