A Garda who sustained serious back injuries in two assault incidents, leading to three operations, was yesterday awarded more than £230,000 compensation at the High Court.
The court heard Det Garda Brendan Madden (33) was monitoring stolen cars at Neilstown, Dublin, on the night of March 12th, 1993.
He chased a man who kicked and punched him and inflicted a "savage" kick to the lower back. He later had three operations on his lower back which, Mr Justice Budd said, would be vulnerable for the rest of his life. The garda was a prominent footballer in Co Westmeath but would be unable to play football to any serious extent, the judge added. He also had difficulty in driving.
In a second incident at Finglas on March 12th, 1998, Garda Madden was approached by youths and was hit and kicked in the lower back, suffering lower back pain.
In his decision on the Garda's action against the Minister for Finance under the Garda Compensation Acts, the judge awarded damages under a number of headings, including pain and suffering to date and in the future and gave judgment for a total of £232,318 and costs. Of the total sum, some £192,000 was for the first incident of assault.
Mr Paul Gilligan SC, for the garda, said his client was unlikely to be ever free of pain.