Brain-injured woman loses case against Dublin Bus
The High Court has dismissed a claim for damages against Dublin bus taken by a woman who suffered life-threatening brain injuries after she was struck by a number 13 bus.
Today Mr Justice John Quirke said that while Florence Mokom's injuries were tragic he was satisfied that there was no evidence that would allow the court conclude that Dublin bus had been negligent. The judge said that he was satisfied that the bus driver had done what he could to avoid the collision.
Ms Mokom (aged 33) of St Theresa's Place Glasnevin, Dublin sued Dublin Bus for alleged negligence arising out of an accident that occurred at Botanic Road Glasnevin on the morning of March 3, 2005.
In her action Ms Mokom, a pharmaceutical technician, claimed that Dublin Bus was negligent and in breach of its care of duty towards her because the bus was travelling at excessive speed, that the bus failed to stop, swerve or slow down to avoid the collision.
She further claimed the bus failed to keep a safe distance from her, that there was a failure to keep a proper lookout or to heed her presence on the roadway.
Dublin Bus denied the claims and argued Ms Mokom was the author of her own misfortune. In pleading contributory negligence the company claims that she walked into the bus, failed to look before stepping off the footpath and onto the road, give no indication of her intended path of travel, and had no reasonable regard for her own safety.
Today Finbarr Fox SC for Dublin bus in arguing for the case to be dismissed said that there was no evidence that Dublin Bus had been negligent. Ms Mokom "never looked left or right before crossing the road", and "the bus driver did all he could," counsel added.
Declan Doyle SC for Ms Mokom said that his client had no memory of the accident, but argued that a case for negligence had been made. Counsel accepted there was a degree of contributory negligence, and that witness accounts of the the accident did not support her claim, however it was their case that Dublin Bus had been negligent.
Counsel told the court that Ms Mokom sustained multiple fractures to her skull, damage to her airways and lungs in the accident, and was taken to hospital. She was in a coma and required ventilation for 10 days.
Counsel said she suffers from headaches, dizziness, poor concentration and cognitive impairment. She also suffered from depression, visual impairment and seizures. His client, originally from the Cameroon, was unlikely to ever work again. While capable of some degree of independent living she would require a degree of care for the rest of her life
She had received care from a relative and the Acquired Brain Injury Ireland organisation.
Mr Justice Quirke in agreeing to dismiss the action said it was "inescapable" that Ms Mokom had been walking along a path when she suddenly turned and walked into the side of a bus, within the space of three seconds. Any evidence tendered in Ms Mokom's favour was speculative.
It was regrettable that Ms Mokom could not remember the accident, and the judge said that it was particularly sad that somebody who had come to Ireland to begin a new life had sustained such serious injuries.The judge described Dublin Bus's decision not to seek costs from Ms Mokom as "compassionate" in the circumstances.
