AN “ACCIDENT-prone” man who has sued Eircom after allegedly suffering injuries as a result of tripping over a manhole cover had brought more than a dozen previous personal injuries actions, the High Court was told yesterday.
Addiction counsellor and taxi driver Gerard McWilliams (52), Bawnlea Close, Tallaght, Dublin, told the court yesterday that, in the 1990s alone, he was involved in 10 accidents.
He also recalled proceedings for alleged food poisoning, for injuries suffered while out jogging and over falling in a neighbour’s driveway but could not remember details of all the proceedings he was allegedly involved in.
Mr McWilliams told Mr Justice Vivian Lavan that another judge once described him as being either “the luckiest or the unluckiest man” due to being involved in accidents which, Mr McWilliams said, were not his fault.
Counsel for Mr McWilliams described his client as “accident-prone”.
In his action against Eircom, Mr McWilliams claims that, around midnight on March 28th, 2003, he twisted his ankle on the edge of a PT steel cover located beside the kerb outside his home.
He claims the company was negligent and in breach of its duty of care towards him in the maintenance, repair, upkeep and supervision of the manhole cover and the area around it. The claims are denied. Yesterday, Mr McWilliams said the accident occurred when he was removing plants from the boot of his car. He said he was in immediate pain, and was eventually taken to hospital in Tallaght.
He was released from hospital and his ankle was put in a strap but he suffered ongoing pain and discomfort, he said. Following reviews from an orthopedic surgeon, he was fitted with a plaster cast. His ankle was “still not right” and he suffers from uncomfortable pain, he said.
Because of the nature of his work as an addiction counsellor, Mr McWilliams said he had tried not to take strong pain killers and had adopted a more holistic approach to his condition.
Under cross examination from Barney Quirke, for Eircom, Mr McWilliams denied the injuries sustained were his fault. While he knew the cover was there, it was “camouflaged”, he said. “I don’t go looking for holes,” he said.
When Mr Quirke asked Mr McWilliams if he had been involved in 13-14 previous personal injuries actions, Mr McWilliams said he may have been involved in 10 or 11 cases arising out of accidents that “were not my fault”.
Mr McWilliams said it was “probable” he brought proceedings and received compensation arising out of traffic accidents in 1990, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2001. The case continues.