I saw in the High Court recently that a Plaintiff was awarded €75,000 for injuries suffered after scaffolding collapsed underneath him. The award was made by Mr. Justice Eamon de Valera after the Judge assessed damages.

The Defendant did not appear in Court and the case for damages went ahead in his absence. The Plaintiff suffered extensive injuries to his ribs, back and kidneys. The Plaintiff is now faced with enforcing the Judgement against the Defendant and it is quite possible the Defendant has no money to pay the compensation awarded.

It will now be for the Plaintiffs Solicitor to take all action possible against the other party to secure the €75,000 for the client. However from experience I know it is very difficult to enforce Judgements against people who have very little disposable income and who’s assets have decreased considerably in value in the last 4/5 years. We have, however, in a number of situations been successful enforcing judgement and securing compensation for clients where we have moved swiftly to pursue the Defendant.

Maurice O’Connor