A 72-year-old woman, who claims she has been "to hell and back" with pain since receiving a back injury when thrown from her seat while a passenger on a bus which hit a speed ramp in Carlow town five years ago, was awarded €234,000 and costs in her High Court action yesterday against Bus Éireann.
Mrs Nancy Byrne, JKL Avenue, Carlow, claimed the bus hit a raised pedestrian crossing at speed, causing the back of the bus to jump violently.
She was thrown from her seat as the bus was travelling along Green Lane, Carlow on November 27th, 1999, Mrs Byrne said.
She had to be brought to court from Carlow lying on her back in the back seat of a motor car.
Mr Justice Kearns giving judgment said that this was among the most serious of cases as he was quite satisfied that Mrs Byrne was constantly racked by pain and had endured enormous suffering since the accident. She had previously enjoyed a happy domestic life with her retired husband.
She suffered a crush fracture of a vertebra and as a result her life was transformed. She had some element of osteoporosis which would have worsened her condition.
Mrs Byrne had described her condition as being to hell and back since the accident and she had had to take extremely strong pain killers and eventually had had a spinal fusion carried out.
Any hope of going on to make a good recovery had clearly not followed and she had been depressed.
Mrs Byrne could not get about without the assistance of a "walker".