Illegal passenger sues over injury
Page 10
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• Commercial drivers in Ireland could be held responsible for injuries to illegal passengers if the decision of a Dublin Court becomes the norm. Last week the court awarded £7,500 to a nine-year-old boy who fell and injured himself while clinging to the back of a moving ice cream van. Youths in the city regularly hang from the back of commercial vehicles for fun, in a game they call "scuffing". The court heard that Brian Duff, the boy in this case, jumped on the back of the ice cream van when it entered the residential area where he lived.
Duff fell from the back of the van and suffered superficial injuries to his face, shoulders, and arms. It was claimed in court that he also suffered post-traumatic stress symptoms.
The owner of the van was sued for the boy's injuries. The van was not insured but the claim was settled by the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland, which compensates people who are injured by uninsured drivers. The trish Road Haulage Association has advised its members to follow the terms of a memorandum of understanding agreed with Irish customs last year. This follows the pre-Christmas detention of a Monaghan haulier following the discovery of 25 guns and drugs worth £8m in a container from Amsterdam.
The haulier was released and exonerated from culpability by the Gardai.