A Co Wicklow woman injured when a walking stick fell from an overhead locker on a Ryanair flight and struck her face and head has settled a €60,000 damages claim against the airline for an undisclosed sum.
Susan Corcoran (40), of The Hazels, Ballinahinch Wood, Ashford, was travelling on a flight from Manchester to Dublin in June 2022 when the incident happened.
She claimed she was sitting in her seat when a fellow passenger, who had been trying to access luggage, caused her father’s walking stick, which was stored in the overhead locker, to fall and strike her on the head.
Ms Corcoran claimed she suffered severe personal injuries, including bruising and swelling to her forehead and scalp, and was later examined on the runway at Dublin Airport by paramedics.
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She was allowed to go home but said her head was very sore to touch over the following week. She said she was unable to leave her home for some time because of the swelling and bruising and suffered persistent pain over the right side of her forehead.
Ms Corcoran also claimed she had recurring right frontal headaches in the weeks after the incident. She said she was referred by her GP to the emergency department at St Michael’s Hospital in Dún Laoghaire and took paracetamol several times a day but it provided little relief.
She was diagnosed with a minor concussion and given a concussion recovery advice leaflet.
She alleged she had to avoid socialising for several weeks because of the bruising to her head and face.
Barrister Conor Kearney, who appeared for Ms Corcoran, told Judge Roderick Maguire in the Circuit Civil Court that while the claim had been settled, Ryanair had earlier tendered a compensation offer in the proceedings.
Judge Maguire, on the application of Mr Kearney, directed that the money be paid out in part settlement of Ms Corcoran’s claim. The amount of the overall settlement was not disclosed.
