Judge refuses any award to woman who sued after car hit bus at 10kmh

A JUDGE refused to award damages to a bus passenger who sued after the vehicle was hit by a rental car, striking a blow for insurers dealing with costly legal cases.

Jennifer Ashe insisted she suffered back and other injuries, which persist, after the collision involving the stationary Dublin Bus and a car driven by a tourist.

The Eurocar rental car company, through its insurer AIG, admitted negligence over the incident on June 18, 2013, but argued Ms Ashe was not hurt and was not entitled to any damages.

In his ruling, after a two-day hearing last week, Mr Justice Paul Butler said he had no doubt Ms Ashe (33) was suffering an injury and suffering to “quite an extraordinary degree” – but the question in the case was what caused that.

And he did not accept her injury was due to the incident after evidence indicating the bus, weighing a minimum of 20 tonnes, did not move forward as a result of the impact with the Hyundai car, weighing a maximum of 1.7 tonnes. The car driver estimated he was driving at 10kmh at the time.

On the engineering evidence that the bus suffered a “glancing blow” and “absolutely no movement” could occur at impact speed and on that basis, the judge was dismissing the claim.

On the application of Fergus O’Hagan SC, instructed by Catherine Molloy of Pembroke Solicitors, for the defence, he also awarded costs against Ms Ashe.

The ruling by Mr Justice Butler is regarded as significant for insurers running “minimal-impact” defences to such claims.

Dumb

During the hearing, the judge was told the cost of repairing the right rear corner of the bus was €509 and the cost of repairing the Hyundai was around the same or more.

He also heard the car driver and his four-year-old son came onto the bus immediately after the impact, described himself as a “dumb American”, apologised and asked was everyone OK.

The bus driver said they were, and both men exchanged insurance details.

The real question was whether that blow caused the bus to move forward, the judge said.

Ms Ashe and her partner said it did – but their account was completely different concerning the impact and the number of people on the bus, he said.

Nobody else noticed any movement or collision and the driver insisted he was stopped with the handbrake engaged, he said. He believed Ms Ashe was made aware of the collision by the bus driver, and from the car driver coming onto the bus and apologising. The court had heard the only claimant arising out of the incident was Ms Ashe.

Her case was against Executive Trust Ltd, trading as Eurocar, with registered offices at Santry, Dublin, and Dublin Bus but the latter was indemnified by AIG.

Ms Ashe, a mother of three, of Lansdowne Gate Apartments, Dublin 12, said she had no back or neck pain before the bus incident. The court heard her GP had not referred her for a MRI scan – but in 2016, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon to whom she was referred by her solicitor, arranged for a MRI scan which showed areas of long-standing degeneration in her thoracic spine and a minor disc bulge in her lower back.