Crazy Dublin Bus claim dismissed

XPS_Zero

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/high-court/woman-who-fell-down-stairs-of-dublin-bus-not-given-damages-by-court-1.2893858

Since the media usually highlights crazy damage awards (like cop dislocates shoulder while doing job and sues entity that had nothing to do with it rather than the guy who dislocated his shoulder - and wins...:rolleyes: ) I thought it would be nice to highlight a rare and strange phenomenon...an Irish judge exercising justice and common sense.

Usually I see so many concurrent sentences, clear cases of wanton premeditated murder dropped to manslaughter, suspended sentences, crazy claims etc I had to read this three times to ensure I wasn't getting it wrong:

A woman who suffered a “nasty” injury after falling backwards down the stairs of a Dublin Bus which moved off before she was seated on the top deck is not entitled to damages, the Court of Appeal has ruled.........It was “utterly unreasonable and unrealistic” to impose a duty of care requiring Dublin Bus drivers to check passengers are securely in their seats before driving off....that to require the driver not to drive away until he was satisfied Ms McGarr had reached the top of the stairs would impose an “impossible” standard of care that “completely ignores the realities of modern-day bus travel” Mr Justice Michael Peart said.

While railings were provided on each side of the stairs, Ms McGarr failed to keep hold of either railing as she mounted the final three steps of the stairs, he said.

We've all been there, we don't live in a grid city like NY we live in a London style medieval city with lots of sharp turns required and a lot of muppets who stick their hand out at the bus stop far too late when the bus is but a few meters away. We've all had to suddenly grab the pole or handle. At the end of the day though there are handles all over the place and as grown adults we've a responsibility to take reasonable measures to ensure our safety. Common sense ought to tell you to hold the handle tight when going up/down a stairs on a moving vehicle.

This has gone over the top, walking past my old primary school the other day I saw all the kids going on a trip, and to my horror they all had these uber-bright yellow high vis vests on and were tethered....yes tethered by the wrist together like cattle and then to a teacher on each end...these were not toddlers now they were closer to 7-8 and I notice others literally driving from the houses FACING THE SCHOOL...to the gate. Are we going to wrap people in bubble wrap and helmets before they leave the house now?

Between this and "safe spaces" (where people want to hide in bubbles/echo chambers of their own kind rather than interacting with people who are different to them), and the worrying tendency among my fellow millennial's to get hysterical (not passionate, hysterical as in 'one of three people on this show has an opinion i dont like ergo he's a bad person and im never watching this show again) hearing any opinion that does not 100% reflect their own right back at them I worry were raising a future generation that thinks any of the normal ruff and tumble and knocks of life is some kind of dire crises they require compensation for or shielding from. With adults encouraging such a mindset with these law suits it could make for a toxic mix. Makes me wonder how they will handle serious problems like mental illness, physical illness, or real trauma.

Vic_08

XPS_Zero wrote: »

I thought it would be nice to highlight a rare and strange phenomenon...an Irish judge exercising justice and common sense.

Indeed a most surprising occurrence, not one but two courts dismissing a cash grab.

I do wonder who will be paying DB's tab for legal costs however.

Amidst all this it is nice to see that some things never change:

The footage showed, at the time Ms McGarr fell, a male passenger continued to drink undisturbed from a can, he noted.

FortySeven

Vic_08 wrote: »

Indeed a most surprising occurrence, not one but two courts dismissing a cash grab.

I do wonder who will be paying DB's tab for legal costs however.

Amidst all this it is nice to see that some things never change:

Give him the benefit of the doubt. It might have been a fanta!

L1011

Vic_08 wrote: »

Amidst all this it is nice to see that some things never change:

Other drinks come in cans than booze.

StreetLight

Consumption of any food or beverage on Dublin Bus is not permitted under by-law.

coylemj

StreetLight wrote: »

Consumption of any food or beverage on Dublin Bus is not permitted under by-law.

And while we're quoting passenger regulations that are completely ignored, let's not forget that the drivers are forbidden from using personal radios in the cab.

StreetLight

coylemj wrote: »

And while we're quoting passenger regulations that are completely ignored, let's not forget that the drivers are forbidden from using personal radios in the cab.

But that's not a passenger regulation.

Stephen15

TBH Dublin Bus as a state owned should be pretty much un-suable unless there is a case of gross negligence. I don't need a fare rise because someone poor sucker has a bit of whiplash or a pain in their shoulder.

I'm glad to see judges are wishing up to these time and money wasting cases because that's what they are.

GM228

coylemj wrote: »

And while we're quoting passenger regulations that are completely ignored, let's not forget that the drivers are forbidden from using personal radios in the cab.

Not any more, that was rolled back on earlier this year.