A compensation claim for brain injuries sustained in a drink driving accident has been resolved at the High Court after a judge approved a €1.2 million settlement.
On June 20th 2009, Laura Byrne (26) – a veterinary student living in New Ross in County Wexford – was talking with friends on John Street in New Ross, when she was hit by a car driven by Polish national Karol Chrzan.
When Chrzan hit Laura, she landed on the bonnet of the vehicle and cracked her head against the windscreen of the car and suffered traumatic brain injuries. Laura was taken by ambulance to Waterford Regional Hospital, and afterwards transferred to Cork for specialist treatment.
As a result of the brain injuries Laura sustained in the accident, she had to abandon the veterinary course she was studying due to attacks of double vision and problems with her balance. Five years after the accident, and despite intensive therapy, her left arm is still weaker than her right arm.
Immediately after the accident, Chrzan drove off with Laura lying on the road. He was later tracked down by the Garda and admitted to panicking after the accident due to drinking six beers and some vodka. The Garda also discovered he had been driving his partner´s car, for which he was not insured.
Chrzan was sentenced to three years in prison for dangerous driving and was also banned from driving for six years, after which Laura made a compensation claim for brain injuries sustained in a drink driving accident against the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) – the organisation that settles claims against uninsured drivers.
A €1.2 settlement of Laura´s compensation claim for brain injuries sustained in a drink driving accident was negotiated to account for her injuries and lost opportunities; and, at the High Court in Dublin, Ms Justice Mary Irvine approved the settlement – commenting that it was a very good one in the circumstances.
The judge closed the case by adding that although no amount of money could compensate for the trauma Laura had suffered, she hoped that the extra money would make life better.