Posted: February 12th, 2014
A woman is to receive €10 million compensation for car crash passenger injuries after a settlement of her claim was approved at the High Court.
In September 2010, Lydia Branley from Kinlough, Country Leitrim, was left in a coma when the driver of a BMW Coupe she was travelling in lost control of his car at 150km per hour on the Ballinsodare slip road coming off the N4 near Sligo.
The car crashed through two roadside barriers, hit a telegraph pole and landed on its roof in a stream alongside the main road. The driver of the vehicle and another male passenger were thrown from the car, but Lydia was unconscious within the wreckage and had to be cut free by emergency services.
Lydia was taken to Sligo General Hospital by ambulance, from where she was transferred to the Beaumont Hospital in Dublin because of her critical condition. She regained consciousness nine months later, when it was discovered that she had lost the use of all her limbs and was unable to speak.
The BMW driver – Martin Kearney from Balinoo, County Mayo – was convicted of dangerous driving causing serious harm in June 2012 by the Roscommon Circuit Court, sentenced to six years in prison and banned from driving for a further twenty years.
Lydia made a claim for compensation for car crash injuries through her father against Kearney and Kearney´s father, who was the owner of the car involved in the accident. A compensation settlement of €10 million was agreed but, due to Lydia´s condition, the settlement had to be approved before the claim could be concluded.
Consequently, at the High Court in Dublin Ms Justice Mary Irvine heard how the car crash happened, whet injuries Lydia had received and how they will affect her throughout the rest of her life. Approving the settlement of compensation for car crash injuries, Judge Irvine commented that the money would not give Lydia back her life but she hoped it would provide her with a degree of normality.
Categories: Car Accident Compensation
