A paramedic who suffered significant injuries when his ambulance driver was forced to brake violently to avoid a collision has been awarded €50,500 in the Circuit Civil Court.
Judge James O’Donohoe heard that Matthew Landy was looking after an elderly critically ill patient in the back of the ambulance when he was thrown from his seat on to the floor.
Landy (52), of Golden Grove Road, Roscrea, Co Tipperary, had sued the National Ambulance Service and the Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) for €60,000 damages arising from the non-collision incident in July 2017.
Barrister Jack Nicholas, who appeared with Hogan Dowling McNamara Solicitors for Mr Landy, outlining the case to the court said his client had been tending to the needs of a patient who had inhaled vomit into her lungs and was being rushed to hospital in Drogheda at the time.
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Mr Nicholas told Judge O’Donohoe that a since-untraced car had suddenly pulled out in front of the ambulance, causing the driver to have to brake suddenly, in turn causing Mr Landy to be thrown from his seat in the rear of the vehicle.
Mr Landy said that after having administered treatment to the patient he had been reading her medical notes while monitoring her condition and sitting, facing the patient, on the observer’s seat. When the emergency braking manoeuvre occurred he had been thrown on to the floor landing on the base of his spine.
He had suffered an undisplaced fracture to his coccyx and, although he returned to work two months after the accident, he still suffered pain while sitting, which affected him particularly after a shift or when lying in bed.
Landy said he was still working for the ambulance service and told Judge O’Donohoe he had not been wearing his safety belt at the time. There was a sign in the back of the ambulance which stated that the safety belt should be worn while the revolving seat was facing the front of the vehicle.
He said he had been seated facing his patient at the time and a forensic engineer told the court that the across-the-chest safety belt would not have prevented him from falling sideways off the seat.
Judge O’Donohoe, dismissing the case against The National Ambulance Service, awarded €50,500 against the MIBI, which is the compensation fund of last resort when a vehicle responsible for causing an accident remains untraced or uninsured.
“This is an unfortunate situation,” Judge O’Donohoe said. “The plaintiff is a very impressive and truthful witness and is to be commended for having risked his own safety while looking after the patient.”
The judge said Mr Landy’s co-worker driver was very experienced and had given very fair evidence, stating that had she not braked she would have collided with the car that had pulled out ahead of her.