Mother must pay €15,000 legal bill after claim taken on behalf of son (4) sees pay out of just €2,500

A mother has been left with having to pay her four-year-old child’s legal costs of about €15,000 from a personal injuries claim which resulted in a pay out far below legal costs.

Judge Mary Morrissey in the Circuit Civil Court today awarded Darragh O’Brien (4) €2,500 damages, €500 below what the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) had assessed and which Darragh’s mum, Megan O’Brien, had rejected as adequate.

It meant Judge Morrissey was unable to award Ms O’Brien, of Bremore Castle, Balbriggan, Co Dublin, the legal costs of having challenged PIAB’s assessment of €3,000 in court on behalf of her son. Ms O’Brien, who already obtained damages for injuries she suffered in the same road traffic accident, will now have to pay Darragh’s legal team.

Judge Morrissey did not make an order for her to pay the costs of defending motorist Joanne Sweetman, of Folkstown, Balbriggan, and her insurer FBD Insurance Group, which would have added at least another €15,000 to her legal bill.

The court heard that when Darragh was aged only two he was in the back seat of his mother’s car when it was struck by Sweetman’s car. Counsel said liability was not in issue and the court was being asked to assess damages for the boy (in the absence of knowing any amount assessed by PIAB.)

Judge Morrissey was told the accident had happened on May 20, 2022, and Ms O’Brien had not taken Darragh to her GP until August 24, three months after the collision. O’Brien told counsel for Sweetman and her insurer, FBD, that a letter initiating her son’s claim had not been sent by her solicitors until a day after visiting her GP and having spoken to them on the phone about her own claim.

O’Brien told Judge Morrissey her son suffered from anxiety and nervousness getting in a car post accident and was even nervous when the car approached the motorway. Due to this she now avoided the motorway and took the back roads.

She had experienced challenging behaviour, shouting, screaming and biting by her son following the accident and had been concerned it was related to the collision. He had displayed intermittent episodes of irritability or excessive anger, suffered from nightmares and had become clinging.

Awarding the boy €2,500 damages, Judge Morrissey said the court noted that the first medical assistance sought for him was three months after the accident.

Following the hearing a spokesman for Stephen Mackenzie Solicitors for the defence said the €2,500 would be lodged by them in court on behalf of Darragh but declined to comment on the legal costs issue.

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