A High Court judge has found Dún Laoghaire /Rathdown County Council and Sandycove Bathers' Association respectively 80 and 20 per cent responsible for an accident at the Forty Foot, Sandycove, Co Dublin, which resulted in a man becoming a quadriplegic. The man sustained serious injuries after he struck a rock when he dived into the sea at the Forty Foot.
Giving a preliminary ruling specifically on the issue of liability in the case, Mr Justice de Valera held that, in failing to erect signs warning of the dangers of a rocky outcrop at the Forty Foot, the two defendants had acted with "reckless disregard". If a warning sign had been erected at all times, the defendants would have been absolved and the tragedy would never have occurred, the judge said.
The defendants had earlier indicated that an adverse ruling on the liability issue would be appealed to the Supreme Court.
The judge made his ruling in an action by Mr Olan McGowan (37), Durham Road, Sandymount, Dublin. He has sued the council and SBA arising from the accident which occurred at about 5 p.m. on July 30th, 1995.
Yesterday, Mr Justice de Valera said he was satisfied that the injuries suffered by Mr McGowan were caused by the rocky outcrop. It appeared from the evidence that the rocky outcrop was a dangerous outwater protrusion. The outcrop was invisible and, while other people were jumping and diving, there was no indication of the danger. The council had a duty of care but had done nothing as regards following safety recommendations, the judge added.
The question of damages has yet to be dealt with and the case has been put in for mention in two weeks time. However, the issue of whether damages will be paid or not depends on the outcome of the appeal against the liability ruling.
In his proceedings, Mr McGowan claims he was executing a dive from a designated main diving area at the Forty Foot when he collided with submerged rocks a few feet below the surface of the water, as a result of which he suffered serious injuries.
The court has heard that Mr McGowan is a quadriplegic with permanent loss of power and sensation in his lower limbs and permanent partial loss of power and movement in his upper limbs. He is very much dependent on others. At the time of the accident, he was an executive employed by Sony Music and was involved in spotting musical talent.
The defendants have denied negligence and have pleaded that Mr McGowan failed to have regard for his own safety. They claim he exposed himself unnecessarily to a risk of damage or injury of which he knew or ought to have known. They also claim Mr McGowan failed to take any or adequate precautions to ascertain the depth of the water prior to diving.
Under cross examination from Mr Fergus O'Hagan SC, for the SBA, Mr McGowan said he was conscious that diving involved a certain reasonable risk when you knew where you were diving. He had been diving in the Forty Foot before and never had a problem.
He was not by nature a risk-taker and he assumed that whether it was high or low tide, there would be enough water underneath him.