A young woman, confined to a wheelchair after falling 4.26m (14ft) from a footpath running alongside a sea wall on to a beach below, has settled her High Court action for damages for a sum of about €2 million.
Caroline Campbell (31), from Kilgarrow, Fintown, Co Donegal, sued Clare County Council, in its capacity as the body responsible for the upkeep of the footpath which runs alongside the sea wall at Carrigaholt, Co Clare, as a result of the accident at Carrigaholt on August 26th, 2001.
She claimed the accident occurred as she was walking along the footpath in the early hours of the morning after a night out.
She fell off the path, over the wall and plunged on to the beach and stones below.
Mr Alex Owens SC, for Ms Campbell, said she had been left a paraplegic and has now adjusted to a life where she will spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair. She had no feeling in her lower body from her hips down.
The court heard Clare County Council had denied any liability claiming Ms Campbell was intoxicated and wearing unsuitable footwear.
In her evidence, Ms Campbell said she, her boyfriend, her two sisters and their boyfriends drove to Carrigaholt in Co Clare for a weekend in August 2001. There was a festival of music in the pubs and two other friends joined them in their rented house.
On the Saturday, the group decided to walk from their house at around 10pm to the local pubs in Carrigaholt. They stayed in the first pub until midnight where, Ms Campbell said, she had no more than four bottles of Budweiser. In the second pub she said she had no more than four drinks of vodka mixed with 7Up .
At 1.30am the group made their way back to the rented house and walked out of the village where there was street lighting. They then had to go on to a "pitch black" road.
She said she could see the porch light of their house, wanted to go to the toilet and walked quickly on her own to the house. She said she stayed on the footpath and was following the light.
"The next thing I knew I was on the beach . . . I was knocked unconscious for a while."
She tried to pull her self up but then realised her legs could not move. She was later rushed to hospital by ambulance and underwent surgery. Later, she was treated at the National Rehabilitation Centre.
She later went back to live in her parents home in Fintown where €38,000 was spent on a special room and bathroom for her needs. The court was told it will cost over €300,000 to build a house for Ms Campbells' needs. She also claimed for loss of earnings. At the time of the accident she was financial controller of the Burtonport Fishermans Co-op earning €26,000 a year.
Later yesterday afternoon, Mr Justice Kevin Haugh was told the case had been settled and it was struck out.