Jurisdiction(s):
Ireland

Irish High Court: failure to call GP witnesses and lack of early records fatal to causation; RTA shoulder injury claim dismissed

Published on: 25 February 2025

Published by a LexisNexis Ireland - Dispute Resolution expert

Legal News

Article summary

A personal injuries action stemming from a 2016 road traffic collision has been thrown out by the High Court. In Dalyv Ryans Investments Ltd T/A Hertz [2024] IEHC 703, the judge placed significant weight on the plaintiff’s choice not to call her treating GPs, as well as the GP whose report was submitted to the Personal Injuries Resolution Board (PIAB), to give evidence in reaching its conclusion.

Background

Liability for the crash was accepted by the defendant, whose car struck the passenger side of the plaintiff’s vehicle at a roundabout. She alleged a right shoulder injury from the impact and said she reported pain to her GP within a few days of the accident. Ongoing symptoms, she contended, culminated in surgery in 2022. The defence maintained the shoulder condition was not caused by the accident, asserting instead that it was unconnected. The medical notes contained no reference to right shoulder symptoms until ten months post‑accident and, thereafter, when that shoulder was being treated, neither a 2017 GP referral for an MRI nor the ensuing radiological report following the scan mentioned the accident...

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