Nurse who had to be pulled from under car that knocked her down awarded €39k

The civil court heard that she was shocked and screaming as she was trapped for minutes beneath the vehicle before being released

Judge Berkeley said Ms Krzyspiak’s dominant injury was to her right wrist which was yet to undergo target injection therapy, She had undergone a number of medical investigations, including an MRI scan of her wrist.

A nurse who had to be pulled from underneath a car after having been knocked off her bicycle has been awarded more than €39,000 damages for injuries, some of which continue to affect her in her work.

Iwona Krzyspiak, a nurse at Peamount Hospital, Newcastle, Co. Dublin, who will celebrate her 54th birthday next week, told Judge Sarah Berkeley in the Circuit Civil Court on Friday that she was shocked and screaming as she was trapped for minutes beneath the vehicle before being released.

Barrister Conor Kearney, who appeared with Tracey Solicitors, for Ms Krzyspiak, of Neilstown Garden, Clondalkin, Dublin 22, told the court she had been cycling along the main avenue within the hospital grounds on her way to work in December 2020 when a car knocked her down.

Injuries

Ms Krzyspiak told Judge Berkeley she had been under the car for a very short time before being helped out, and she injured her lower back, left leg, both of her hands and her right hand dominant wrist. She said her back and leg injuries cleared up quite quickly but still suffered numbness in her wrist if having to perform lifting duties.

She said she had been off work for six weeks and could possibly have returned to work a little bit earlier but could not be accommodated in less physical duties. She had been obliged to take some annual leave in order to fully rehabilitate after the accident.

Ms Krzyspiak said she had been assisted by the driver of the car Ms Jacqueline Baker, of Wheatfield Road, Palmerstown, Dublin, whose insurer Aviva had accepted liability on her behalf. The case was heard as an assessment of damages.

Judge Berkeley said Ms Krzyspiak’s dominant injury was to her right wrist which was yet to undergo target injection therapy, She had undergone a number of medical investigations, including an MRI scan of her wrist.

The judge awarded Ms Kdrzyspiak €35,000 damages together with €4,265 special damages and costs.