A High Court case has been resolved for €600,000 for a financial consultant who reportedly fell and fractured his skull while leaving a relative’s home on Christmas Day, resulting in a serious brain damage, reports Breaking News.
It is believed that Anthony O’Riordan may have fallen while trying to board a cab in the driveway of his sister’s home in Dalkey, County Dublin, and had to be carried out on a stretcher.
Under the direction of Agustus Cullen and Law lawyers, Mr. O’Riordan’s attorney, Bruce Antoniotti, informed the High Court that the 81-year-old retiree had a brain damage and was left with cognitive deficiencies as a result of the accident 12 years prior, reports Breaking News.
According to Mr. Antoniotti, Mr. O’Riordan, his wife, and daughter had arrived at his sister’s home around 4 p.m. on Christmas Day 2012. He said that the accident reportedly happened on a 9.5-degree slope on the driveway leading to the house.
The O’Riordan party was departing over four hours later, and Mr. O’Riordan assisted his wife into the cab before going around the rear of the vehicle to enter the opposite side.
“He disappeared from view and appears to have lost his balance. We don’t know what happened and Mr O’Riordan does not remember the incident. We don’t know if he tripped, slipped or stumbled,” Mr Antoniotti said, reports Breaking News.
According to Mr. Antoniotti, the most plausible scenario was that Mr. O’Riordan stumbled. He saw that the taxi’s wing mirror was broken off, which made sense since someone may have stumbled and grabbed it.
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Through his wife Hilda, Anthony O’Riordan of Mount Merrion Avenue, Blackrock, Dublin, had sued his relatives Irene and Robin Hennessy of Knocknacree Road, Dalkey, for the Christmas Day 2012 accident, reports Breaking News.
He allegedly tripped and fell while trying to get into the cab and navigating the steep driveway. The cobble lock was not cleaned with a power hose to ensure it was free of any alleged buildup of biofilm, slime, or other grime that could have left the surface slippery, especially in the winter, according to Mr. O’Riordan, who also claimed that there was a failure to ensure his safety, health, and welfare while he was a guest on the property.
Additionally, it was claimed that Mr. O’Riordan struck his head and lost consciousness for almost twenty minutes. Following a medical diagnosis of a brain bleed and a fractured skull, Mr. O’Riordan required surgery. Every claim was rejected, reports Breaking News.
Mr. Antoniotti informed the court that the rough surface was safe and that professional engineers from the O’Riordan side had no concerns about the driveway slope. When the driveway was inspected a year and a half after the accident, it was found to be in perfect shape, but one engineer had made a hypothesis on the potential for a biofilm, in which bacteria grow on the surface, reports Breaking News.
Mr. Antoniotti outlined the possibility of lawsuit, stating that he had serious concerns and that he was unable to predict their success.
Mr. Justice Paul Coffey approved the settlement, stating that the engineers had not criticised the slope and that there was no proof of how Mr. O’Riordan had fallen. The judge deemed the offer reasonable and fair, notwithstanding the danger of litigation.
He said that the family must have been shocked by the incident and that Christmas must now be a very trying time for them, reports Breaking News.
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