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Judge Cross addressed the issue of aggravated damages in the context of a recent employer liability case.
Mr Mohammed Ali Saleh suffered a repetitive style injury to his back in the course of his employment in Moyvalley Meats on 11 January 2007.
Mr Saleh alleged that it was the continuous and repetitive nature of the work under severe time constraints which caused his injury.
The employer had fully defended the claim and had claimed that Mr Saleh’s was not telling the truth about the accident or his injury. Mr Justice Cross ultimately held for the plaintiff on liability.
The medical evidence that was advanced before the Court was hotly contested. The plaintiff had had two unsuccessful operations on his back. Mr Justice Cross awarded a total of €415,000 to include special damages to date and into the future.
Judge Cross then went on to consider whether an award of aggravated or exemplary damages should be made in response to the manner in which the employers had defended the case.
Interestingly, Judge Cross concluded that the employer’s enthusiasm for the accusations advanced against the plaintiff were encouraged by their own medical experts and on that basis he decided not to make an award of aggravated damages in this case.
That said, his analysis should serve as a warning to other defendants to take care about the manner in which they level accusations against plaintiffs in the future.