Invitation to Jest.

AlekSmart

Interesting bit from the Courts here,which,doubtless will bring great joy to "Jesters" everywhere....

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/man-who-was-dragged-off-dart-by-security-wins-10k-in-damages-29068267.html

Mr Justice Kearns said he was satisfied there must have been something going on to warrant the intervention of the security men.

Mr Gray, he said, had been drinking on top of taking methadone and was vulnerable in relation to his balance. The judge rejected that Mr Gray had been “roughed up” or kicked while lying on the ground.

Mr Danaher (Counsel) said a security guard would say he told Mr Gray several times to stop before eventually putting his hand in and pulling Mr Gray who lost his balance and ended up on the platform.

He agreed he was on methadone at the time and had consumed between two to three cans of cide.r. He denied that he had consumed any more than that.

On the one hand,we see & hear pleas for greater security on Public Transport,and on the other hand we have a case where somebody admittedly with both Drink and Drugs contributing to their ebulience gets €10,000.

IR could be forgiven if they decided to remove ALL STT Security today,as it appears to pose a greater threat to its finances than Fare Evasion.

I wonder will the companies lodge an Appeal...?

godtabh

common sense isnt so common any more

foggy_lad

AlekSmart wrote: »

Interesting bit from the Courts here,which,doubtless will bring great joy to "Jesters" everywhere....

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/man-who-was-dragged-off-dart-by-security-wins-10k-in-damages-29068267.html

It's not like you to miss out on very important points of any story but here is what the president of the high court said

President of the High Court Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns said there was fault on both sides, but he was satisfied an unnecessary degree of force had been used in taking David Gray off the train.

KD345

AlekSmart wrote: »

On the one hand,we see & hear pleas for greater security on Public Transport,and on the other hand we have a case where somebody admittedly with both Drink and Drugs contributing to their ebulience gets €10,000.

IR could be forgiven if they decided to remove ALL STT Security today,as it appears to pose a greater threat to its finances than Fare Evasion.

I wonder will the companies lodge an Appeal...?

To be fair, the judge did point out there were faults by both parties. I don't see how this is an "invitation to jest". The man spent four days in hospital and is scarred. The judge was satisfied that "an unnecessary degree of force had been used".

Hopefully lessons will be learnt from this and improvements/training can be made. Like any security business, you'll meet individuals who are drunk, aggressive and unreasonable. The key is finding a way to deal with them without landing yourself in court.

AlekSmart

foggy_lad wrote: »

It's not like you to miss out on very important points of any story but here is what the president of the high court said

Yep Foggy,I missed that due to reading this.....

The judge rejected that Mr Gray had been “roughed up” or kicked while lying on the ground.

KD345: I don't see how this is an "invitation to jest".

To quite a large grouping of Public Transport users,the only part of this story to be read is the title...

Man who was dragged off Dart by security wins €10k in damages

The ins and outs of it all will not impact too much on these folks.....only the €10,000

What interests me is the involvement of the High Court in this.....as well as the lack of reference to CCTV,which is generally referred to in most such cases these days.

Wonder what Costs were awarded,as that €10K would be soaked up easily on a Day in the High Court

KD345

AlekSmart wrote: »

The ins and outs of it all will not impact too much on these folks.....only the €10,000

What interests me is the involvement of the High Court in this.....as well as the lack of reference to CCTV,which is generally referred to in most such cases these days.

Wonder what Costs were awarded,as that €10K would be soaked up easily on a Day in the High Court

Thankfully the High Court doesn't just award damages of this amount unless it's sure of the circumstances. I don't know what factors were used to come to the conclusion that 'unnecessary force' was used, but I'm guessing the incident was carefully examined by both sides.

I can understand your frustration of the headline. I too have posted here about criminal and anti social behaviour on public transport, and while I agree tough action needs to improve things, everybody is entitled to be dealt with without the sort of action described in this case.

schemingbohemia

€10k award would surely mean this should have been heard in the District or Circuit court, he must have been looking for a lot more than he got.

Cookie_Monster

schemingbohemia wrote: »

€10k award would surely mean this should have been heard in the District or Circuit court, he must have been looking for a lot more than he got.

Looking for 20k but was 50% at fault so only got half the award.

Just another scumbag playing the system IMO

murphaph

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Looking for 20k but was 50% at fault so only got half the award.

Just another scumbag playing the system IMO

Couldn't agree more.

Don't want to hear about "excessive force". The guy was on methadone and had a few cans in him to boot, most likely paid for with our taxes. Absolutely no sympathy for him or his ilk. Society needs to take back our estates, towns, cities and public transport from these types.