IRELAND rugby out half Eric Elwood has to do daily household chores since his wife was injured in a car crash three years ago, a court has been told.
"My husband now does all of the heavy housework including ironing, hoovering and washing the floor," Mrs Tara Elwood (27) told Judge Diarmuid Sheridan in Dublin Circuit Civil Court.
She said she still had difficulty fully bending down and suffered from whiplash injuries to her neck and lower back.
Awarding Mrs Elwood £25,000 damages, Judge Sheridan said he had formed a very high opinion of her and believed her.
Mrs Elwood, of Glencairn Green, The Gallops, Leopardstown, Dublin, told her counsel, Ms Oonah McCrann, that she was a passenger in her husband's car when a motorist, Mr Clive Garland, of Greystones, Co Wicklow, crashed into the back of it.
She said that as a result of soft tissue injuries to her back and neck she had to take time off work as a catering supervisor with the Irish Film Institute. Eventually she had to switch to working as a receptionist, a less physically demanding job and lower paid.
Mrs Elwood, who sued Mr Garland for £30,000 damages, under her maiden name of Ms Tara Donnelly, said she was unable to swim or continue with her aerobics classes.
Her injuries had disrupted her social life and if she attempted any heavy housework it would aggravate the pain and she would have to rest in bed.
Judge Sheridan was told Mrs Elwood had attended the Lansdowne Rugby Club physiotherapist, Ms Lelia Jennings, on her husband's recommendation.
The judge said Ms Jennings was obviously now busily working with Eric Elwood, carried off with a knee injury in the Ireland - England international last Saturday.
Mr Jim Philips, counsel for Mr Garland's insurers, said liability was conceded in the action. Mrs Elwood broke down twice during cross examination relating to loss of earnings and previous medical history.
The judge said Mr Philips had to act on his instructions in relation to challenging any claim for special damages, such as loss of earnings. "No counsel enjoys reducing a lady in the witness box to tears but he has a duty to his client," Judge Sheridan said.
Judge Sheridan said Mrs Elwood had a back problem when she was 15 but this had cleared up as had an injury she received in a fall in a nightclub some time before her car accident. Medical evidence suggested any new injury would take longer to heal as a result of the previous trauma to Mrs Elwood's back he said.