An award of £31,000 to the widow of a truck driver who was killed in a traffic accident in no way reflected her true loss, Miss Justice Laffoy said in the High Court in Cork yesterday.
She said she had to approve the amount to Ms Anne O'Halloran and her five dependent children because of the difficulty of establishing liability.
Mr John O'Halloran died after his truck and a coach collided at Knockrow, Golden, Co Tipperary, on December 22nd, 1995. The coach was owned by Landtourer Coaches Ltd, of Farnham, Surrey. Ms O'Halloran, of Gurranebraher Road, Cork, was left with a very young family.
The action was against the coach driver, Mr Patrick White, of St John's Park, Waterford, and the coach company.