A woof day at work for a Garda

The High Court recently considered a personal injuries action by Garda Leahy following a vicious attack by two pit bull terriers while on duty. The Court also had to consider the exacerbation of a pre-existing back injury of Garda Leahy.

Background and Previous Injuries

Garda Leahy had 31 years of service and had been the recipient of twenty commendations in addition to being awarded the Scott Medal for bravery for rescuing a man from a fire in an apartment complex.  During the course of his 31 year service, Garda Leahy had sustained a number of injuries, one of which being a serious injury to his back, which required an operation.

The Assault

On the 26 June 2008, Garda Leahy was working in the anti-drugs unit based in Galway city when he entered a house where suspected drug dealers were believed to be preparing and dealing heroin.  He had placed one suspect under arrest when he heard another suspect call out the word “Bull”. This signalled the appearance of two pit-bull terriers who charged at Garda Leahy biting both of his legs and knocking him to the floor. Garda Leahy’s colleagues attempted to stop the dogs from attacking Garda Leahy and were successful in removing one of the dogs, however, the other dog had clenched his teeth deep into Garda Leahy’s leg and the officers could not unlock this grip. Garda Leahy, in an attempt to release himself grabbed the dog by the throat and wrestled him to the ground where he found himself face to face with the pit-bull which he was holding at arm’s length, his fellow officers eventually managed to pull the dog away and lock it safely into the house.

The Aftermath

The Court heard that Garda Leahy suffered severe soft tissue injuries on both of his legs and will be scarred for life. He also had developed a mild anticipatory anxiety about unknown dogs and any situations of confrontation with them. The Court considered the effects of the attack on Garda Leahy’s already pre-existing back condition. The consensus of the medical reports pre assault were of the opinion that Garda Leahy would not need further back manipulation or surgery. Following the assault, the Court heard that he began to experience severe discomfort once more and was forced to seek pain killing injections to ease the pain, he was eventually required to undergo further back surgery to provide relief.

The central question that the High Court examined was one of the causation of and responsibility for Garda Leahy’s current complaints in relation to his back condition, he was required to establish that the acceleration in his back injury was caused directly as a result of the dog attack, and but for the assault occurring he would not have needed to undergo further treatment. The defendant submitted that there was no sufficiently close relationship between the assault and the deterioration in Garda Leahy’s back complaints which ultimately lead to the back surgery.

The Court was satisfied that on the balance of probabilities, the assault on Garda Leahy had resulted in a deterioration in his pre-existing back condition and that due to the assault his back problems were rendered symptomatic and exacerbated to the point where surgery was required.

Garda Leahy was entitled to be compensated for the pain and suffering attributable to the exacerbation in the sum of €202,505.

This finding highlights that Respondents to personal injuries proceedings should be mindful that they may be responsible for compensating Applicants for not only the injuries that result directly from an accident, but also for the exacerbation to pre-existing injuries that the Applicant may be suffering from if a clear correlation between the accident and the exacerbation can be put forward.

A full copy of the judgment is available here.

Leahy -v- Minister for Finance [2016] IEHC 76

Author: JP Comerford and Killian O'Reilly