© The Irish Examiner
David Draper, Drumheath Drive, Blanchardstown, Dublin, was 13 years old when he attempted to cross a dual carriageway after he got off a bus on the way home from school.Mr Justice Bernard Barton was told the schoolboy, who was in his first year at secondary school, got to the centre island but was then clipped by a motorbike.David, who is now 18 years old, had sued the motorbike driver, Nigel Fitzgerald, of Harold’s Cross Rd, Harold’s Cross, Dublin, as a result of the accident at Blanchardstown Road North on March 30, 2011.
It was claimed that there was an alleged failure by the driver to keep any proper lookout.Mr Fitzgerald had denied the claims and contended there was negligence on the part of David Draper because he had allegedly without warning run from the back of a bus and had allegedly failed to look to his left to check for traffic coming from the left.Counsel Aedaen McGovern told the court the settlement had been agreed on the basis of 30% contributory negligence on the boy’s behalf, which brought the total award to €3.5m.Counsel said the boy had made it to the centre island but was struck by the handles of the motorbike and suffered a serious traumatic brain injury.He was taken to a hospital by ambulance and later transferred to Beaumont Hospital. He spent several months in hospital after the accident.David’s mother Suzanne Ashmore told the court she was so grateful to have her son and to kiss him every morning and every night. Before the accident she said David was an outgoing child with the gift of the gab but all that had been taken from him.
Mr Justice Barton, who met David in his chambers, said he had no hesitation in approving the settlement.