Family may sue lawyer over €450k
Ex-clients allege part of €5.2m payout was withheld. Solicitor says no money was withheld
THE FAMILY of a young man paralysed in a car crash are considering suing a solicitor who they claim withheld €450,000 from their wheelchair-bound son.
Mary Colleran told the Irish Mail On Sunday that eight years after her son Brian was awarded €5.2m in compensation, the solicitor who handled the case had yet to provide the itemised bill of costs, which he is legally obliged to provide.
At the centre of the dispute is the Ballaghaderreen-based solicitor Declan O’Callaghan, who was suspended last summer by the Law
‘He knew we were down and at our lowest’
Society from practising as a solicitor and is now the subject of ongoing legal proceedings for overcharging clients.
It is understood that as many as 35 people believe they have a case against the 59-year-old from Co. Roscommon.
They include a 31-year-old widow who was charged €101,000 in fees for handling her deceased husband’s €396,000 estate, and a bereaved child who never knew his father.
The mother of three has since been refunded money by Mr O’Callaghan.
But this weekend it emerged that the Law Society is investigating how 10% of a multimillion-euro award paid to Brian Colleran was spent. Mr Colleran was seriously injured in 2009 when, aged 21, he was a passenger in a car driven by a friend on the way to work. The car hit ice and overturned, leaving Mr Colleran seriously injured, later resulting in a multimillion euro insurance pay-out.
His mother explained: ‘Brian was only 21 and he had his whole life ahead of him and his whole life changed.
‘Our hearts were absolutely broken and it’s still going on...
‘You would think at this stage, eight years later, we could be getting on with our lives. It’s hanging over us all the time and now it’s back to square one. ‘It’s very, very traumatic.’
Mrs Colleran explained she had repeatedly asked Mr O’Callaghan for a final balancing statement to know whether he owed the family money or whether they owed him money.
‘Even at that, I never, or not one of us here ever suspected there was anything untoward going on,’ she added.
‘I have been asking these questions for eight years. My understanding is that the €5.2m that Brian got should have been lodged to his account and that it was up to Declan O’Callaghan then to say, “I need you to give me €450,000 out of that.” He should have sent a bill and we would have paid it.’
Late last night, solicitors for Mr O’Callaghan told the MoS that a bill had been provided to the Collerans and that no monies had been withheld.
Brendan Steen, who is managing Mr O’Callaghan’s former legal practice, insisted an account had been sent by him to the Law Society detailing how the disputed €450,000 was spent.
He said the €5.2m awarded to Mr Colleran included general damages and special damages, and that in general, special damages were used to cover medical fees such as hospital and drug charges. Even though Mr Steen insisted there was a procedure within Mr O’Callaghan’s office to send clients an itemised account of fees and costs, he was unable to confirm last night whether this procedure was followed in the Colleran case.
The Law Society’s case against Mr O’Callaghan is due for mention in the High Court tomorrow.
The representative body for solicitors has refused to comment on the Colleran case because of ongoing legal proceedings.
But in a statement issued last night, it pointed out that Mr O’Callaghan had not practised as a solicitor since he was suspended in July.
‘I’ve been asking these questions for eight years’