Two sisters who told a court they have to take occasional breaks from their college studies because of neck pain more than eight years after a Dublin traffic collision are to split a damages award of more than €40,000.
Sophia (18) and Grace Mohan (20), who were aged 10 and 12 when their mother’s car was rear-ended at traffic lights in Sandyford in 2017, were awarded damages of €19,200 and €21,500 by Judge Roderick Maguire.
Barrister Niall Mooney told the Circuit Civil Court that the sisters, from Foxrock Manor, Dublin 18, fell into a category of protracted personal injuries compensation guidelines “where there remained an increased vulnerability to further trauma or permanent minimal symptoms”.
Judge Maguire heard that Grace, who is studying at Trinity College Dublin and a sailing instructor, also injured her right arm in the incident and suffered from headaches. She also developed an anxiety about travelling in cars, the court heard.
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Mr Mooney, who appeared with Boland Solicitors, Kilkenny, said the sisters still complain of neck pain, particularly when studying, and have to take frequent breaks from their desks.
Their mother, Molly Slattery, earlier settled a damages claim against Axa Insurance client Anna Maria Rekas, whose car rear-ended Ms Slattery’s vehicle and whose address was given as Axa Insurance, Wolfe Tone Street, Dublin.
Sharbee Morrin, counsel for Ms Rekas and Axa, told the court the collision was a moderate one and the airbags in the car did not deploy. He said the plaintiffs had not visited a doctor in relation to the collision until October 15th, 2017, more than four months after it happened.
Mr Morrin said that while both girls were found to have neck pain, they had only attended two or three physiotherapy sessions, with no follow-up X-rays or CT scans. Both plaintiffs said they continued to participate in their sporting activities, using anti-inflammatory gels beforehand.
Judge Maguire said the protracted injuries in both cases may be permanent. He accepted the evidence of the plaintiffs, who had been advised by their physiotherapists to follow exercise regimes, about their symptoms.
