April-06-2016 in Employment Law

In McLaughlin v McDaid (2015), the plaintiff was an employee who worked in a quarry owned by the defendants. In 2003, the 17-year-old plaintiff was operating machinery in the quarry when he suffered a serious injury resulting in a loss of part of his right foot. He was seeking an order for damages. The defendants sought to rely on the provisions of Section 26 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 to dismiss the plaintiff’s claim on the grounds that he had presented false and misleading evidence to the court.

The High Court found in favour of the plaintiff, awarding damages on the grounds of negligence and breach of duty. The plaintiff was also entitled to obtain damages for breach of statutory duty of the second, third and fourth named defendants. The court concluded that the defendants were in breach of their common law duties as employers. The plaintiff was awarded a total of €453,000 in damages, including special damages, for pain and suffering to date and into the future.

The court refused to dismiss the plaintiff’s case pursuant to Section 26. The court found that although the first statement of claim filed by the plaintiff was false, it was completed under the influence and in thrall of one or more of the named defendants. They had devised a version of events with a view to securing indemnity from an insurance company against the plaintiff’s claim and had persuaded the plaintiff to go along with this concoction. Although the plaintiff had played a part in promoting the initial false claim, the court took into account the fact that the plaintiff was “vulnerable” and that he had taken all the necessary steps to rectify the mistake at the hearing of the case.

Read the full judgment here.

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