Bystander lost sense of smell after nightlcub brawl
An onlooker to a nightclub brawl has lost his sense of smell after being struck by a security man, a court heard.
Tomas Cernis (aged 23) of Sheephill Avenue, Corduff, Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault causing harm to Kenneth Flood at Hush nightclub at the Red Cow Hotel, Dublin on December 30, 2007.
Garda Niall Kenny told Elva Duffy BL, prosecuting, that on the night Mr Flood was queuing for his jacket when a fight broke out between people he didn’t know.
The group were pushed outside by security staff and Cernis punched Mr Flood in the jaw. The victim suffered swelling to his eye and damage to his nose.
A medical report stated he has lost his sense of smell and it is unlikely it will ever return. His sense of taste has also been damaged.
Judge Martin Nolan said that Cernis, a Lithuanian, had made a very bad judgement at the time and had wrongly thought the victim was one of the people who were involved in the fight.
He said even if this had been the case, the force he had used was excessive.
The judge imposed a suspended sentence of two years, noting that Cernis has no other convictions.
