Motorcycle garda settles legal claim

A 42-year-old motorcycle garda, who collided with the rear of a stationary truck after his helmet got caught in his epaulette, has settled for an undisclosed sum a €38,000 damages claim against his employer.

Garda Paul Burke alleged that on Feb 22, 2005, he was looking over his shoulder while changing lane on St John’s Road West, Dublin, when his helmet became entangled in the metal numbers on his epaulette.

He claimed in the Circuit Civil Court he had been taken by ambulance to the emergency & department of St James’s Hospital, Dublin, where X-rays had revealed a fracture of his left tibia.