A driver has received a payout of £8,777 for a minor soft tissue injury incurred when he was incorrectly suspected by police of operating a getaway car after an armed break-in and had to halt abruptly. Pawel Galazka, 55 years old, was unsuccessful in his personal injury claim at the Circuit Court. However, he later convinced the High Court on appeal that the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform was responsible for the September 2018 incident.
Justice Tony O’Connor ruled that Mr Galazka bore no contributory fault for the incident, awarding him £7,842 in general damages and £932 in special damages. The payments were made in recompense for a minor injury that exacerbated a previous sports-related knee injury.
Mr Galazka, who lives on Clonard Road in Crumlin, Dublin 12, and works in maintenance, divulged to the court that he was driving with his family in his 17-year-old vehicle (which later had to be written off), when a police Audi Q7 tried to barricade him as he neared the Walkinstown roundabout late in the evening on September 25th. He said that he lurched forward and bashed his knees against his car’s plastic interior.
Militarised police, he reported, lept out pointing guns and commanding him to put his hands on the dashboard. The Minister entirely denied the claim and further argued that no firearms were drawn. One police officer testified that they realized their mistake after seeing children in the vehicle and understanding that this couldn’t be the car involved in the previous nearby break-in at a commercial estate.
In the High Court, the defence argued that Mr Galazka hadn’t checked his mirrors or blind spot when moving into the right lane just before the roundabout. Lawyers representing the Minister indicated that, as a police officer, the driver of the Audi was free from certain driving laws applicable to regular drivers.
However, Justice O’Connor concluded that Mr Galazka reacted reasonably swiftly to the Audi’s unconventional driving. He concluded that Mr Galazka was neither reckless nor negligent in his handling of the roundabout approach.
In evaluating the incident, he found the reasoning behind the police intervening before the plaintiff reached the roundabout unsatisfactory, contrary to a persuasive argument that the suspect should be followed without immediate intervention as per the Garda Síochána guidelines.
He noted that despite the potential risks, no necessity was identified to interfere before the plaintiff reached the roundabout that could otherwise, have been avoided. The situation around the roundabout should also have guided the Garda’s decision.
Mr Justice O’Connor declared that given the circumstances, Mr Galazka’s disorientation and startled response were legitimate, possibly further compounded by an Audi car being in his blind spot.
While acknowledging that Mr Galazka had taken sick leave from work for three days subsequent to the incident, the judge decided not to agree that his ongoing health issues were linked to the minor collision. During the proceedings, Mr Galazka disclosed that an old football injury, an anterior cruciate ligament tear in his knee from 35 years ago, was potentially aggravated by the incident.
Using the evidence gathered, the judge concluded that the minor car accident did lead to Mr Galazka exacerbating his pre-existing knee condition. Despite this, the court deemed the injuries sustained in the crash to be minor. Accordingly, any awarded damages must reflect this minimal impact, and must be justifiable and adequate, as stated by Mr Justice O’Connor.
The judge will consider input from both parties before delivering a final judgement and deciding who will bear the legal costs.