‘...a total waste of time!’

It is well established in law (see The tale of the thirsty snail) that to succeed in a claim for negligence, there are three elements that must be present:

• Duty,
• Breach and
• Damage

One such element was clearly lacking in a recent case before Dublin Circuit Civil Court where an elderly Defendant gave evidence that her automatic car had accidently rolled forward in traffic, connecting with the Plaintiff’s taxi. The impact speed was estimated at ‘one mile an hour’ and there was no damage to either vehicle.

The Plaintiff, claiming to have suffered whiplash-type injuries' sought damages of €120,000.

It was said in Court that an insurance investigator would be giving evidence that the Plaintiff taxi driver had provided a signed statement confirming that he had not sustained any injury either.  Although this point was not conceded, the Plaintiff then instructed his solicitor to apply to withdraw his claim.

Judge Jacqueline Linnane, whom you may recall from #CrashForCash case dismissed, said that the Plaintiff’s credibility had ‘gone completely’ and that it had been ‘a total waste of time’.

The case was dismissed, along with another unrelated claim, with full costs awarded against the Plaintiff.

Sometimes accidents are precisely that!

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