A lady’s claim against a serious injury, which she allegedly incurred while participating in a rugby match with her local club seven years ago, has not been thrown out by the High Court. Carmel Creaven has launched a lawsuit against the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), the Tuam Rugby Football Club in Galway, in addition to several trustees and officers of Tuam RFC. She alleges them of negligence and violation of duty tied to injury caused by a lineout collision during a match on the 8th of January, 2017. All the accused have denied the charges.
The defendants, Tuam RFC/trustees, put forward the suggestion that the court should initially judge if Ms. Creaven could retain such an action since, as an association member, she would essentially be suing herself and so should not be able to maintain the action against it. They proposed for a preliminary hearing on the matter if necessary, or an alternative option to dismiss the case involving the club/trustee defendants.
Ms Creaven’s legal team countered that it has not been established yet that she was a club member during the occurrence of the incident, which would meet the criteria of a member not being permitted to sue oneself. They opined that such determination could only be made through evidence, including verbal testimonies.
Justice Denise Brett on Wednesday declined to order a preliminary hearing and also refused to dismiss the case. It will proceed to trial in the usual procedure.