A 40-year-old house husband's sex life had been reduced by 90 per cent as a result of a whiplash injury, a judge heard yesterday. Judge Carroll Moran was told in the Circuit Civil Court that Mr Thomas Richardson's injuries were exacerbated by the fact that he had lost most of his right leg in a previous accident.
Mr John Fox, counsel for Mr Richardson, of Ramilles Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin, said his client injured his neck, back, chest, arms and legs in a crash with an uninsured car at Ardee Street, Dublin, in April 1995.
He said normally the injury would constitute a moderate to severe whiplash, but as Mr Richardson was an amputee his mobility had been affected.
Mr Fox said Mr Richardson's sex life had been reduced by 90 per cent and his social life had also been seriously affected. He had bouts of depression and had been referred to a psychiatrist.
Mr Richardson, who looks after his five-year-old daughter, said in an affidavit he would have to undergo further medical procedures and intensive physiotherapy. His quality of life had been severely diminished.
Judge Moran made an order remitting Mr Richardson's claim from the maximum £30,000 jurisdiction of the Circuit Court to the unlimited jurisdiction of the High Court.
The application was opposed by Mr Conor Devally, counsel for the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland, which funds liability for unsatisfied judgments against uninsured drivers.