Firm fined €500 after bars fell off and hit woman

A construction company has pleaded guilty to not having one of its drivers properly insured in a case where iron bars in a trailer struck and seriously injured a pedestrian.

The incident occurred in April 2016 and has already been the subject of a High Court case.

Yesterday at Clonakilty District Court, Sgt Paul Kelly, prosecuting, said the case related to an insecure load where bars fell off and injured a pedestrian.

Grahame Copplestone, solicitor for Claramore Construction Ltd of Millstreet, Co Cork, said the issue had previously been adjourned for arbitration in relation to whether the insurer would grant indemnity, and that the arbitrator found against the company.

The court heard that a man who had been driving the vehicle was pulling a trailer on the day in the West Cork town of Rosscarbery and had a type B licence.

Mr Copplestone said there had been some “confusion, to be fair to the driver” in relation to whether such a licence allowed the pulling of a trailer. He said most people thought that a type B licence permitted the towing of a trailer as long as it was below 3,500kg in weight, but this was incorrect. The court was told that as a result, the driver had been uninsured at the time of the incident.

Regarding his clients, Mr Copplestone said: “To be fair, it is their responsibility that all drivers have the correct licence to pull these particular trailers.

He said the driver had himself been stopped a few times previously and had never been charged and so believed that he was driving legitimately.

Mr Copplestone said the injured party had been fully compensated, referring to the “horrific” circumstances of the incident and the serious injuries she had suffered.

Last July, Frances O’Driscoll, 59, a mother of three, who suffered catastrophic injuries when she was struck by the iron bars on April 16, 2016, at Causeway, Rosscarbery, West Cork, settled her High Court action in the case.

Mr Copplestone told Judge James McNulty: “The company is now facing the prospect of the MIBI (Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland) coming after them.”

Judge McNulty convicted and fined Claramore Construction Ltd €500 in relation to the charge, with 30 days to pay.