A DOCTOR has lost a High Court action in which he claimed damages for post-traumatic stress as a result of a drink-driver pouring a urine specimen over his head.
Dr Athtkar Mansoor (67) had sued the Minister for Justice over an incident in Tullamore Garda station, Co Offaly, on March 20th, 2000, when he was called to take a urine sample from a driver later convicted of refusing to provide a sample.
Dr Mansoor, a native of Pakistan with an address at the Medical Centre, Kilbeggan Bridge, Tullamore, claimed he was exposed to a risk which the defendant knew or ought to have known of. He also claimed failure to provide adequate protection for him during the procedure for taking samples.
The claims were denied.
After the arrested driver returned to the doctor’s room with a 500ml jug containing the urine sample, he threw the contents over Dr Mansoor’s head and face, the court heard. The urine went into the doctor’s mouth and eyes, soaked his clothes and ran down into his shoes.
Dr Mansoor was diagnosed as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and, as a devout Muslim, felt unable to read the Koran until he was cleansed, the court was told.
Yesterday, Mr Justice Vivian Lavan dismissed Dr Mansoor’s claim after finding the actions of the drink-driver “wholly unforeseeable and unpredictable in the extreme”.
While the defendant clearly had a duty of care not to expose the doctor to risk of injury from intentional conduct of another party, this duty only extended to risks which were reasonably foreseeable and also preventable, the judge said.