Courts

Settlement reached in case against Green Party Senator who hit pram after driving through red light

Jana Novakova was crossing at pedestrian lights when the accident occurred

The court was told that Senator Vincent P Martin drove 'very fast' through a red light and hit the pram, throwing the baby out of it.

Fri Oct 21 2022 - 17:35

A High Court action over an accident in which Green Party Senator Vincent P Martin drove through a red light and hit a pram containing a baby has been settled.

The accident occurred some four years before Mr Martin, a barrister and Green Party spokesperson on foreign affairs and Brexit, was nominated as a senator.

Mr Martin, of Mullacash, North Naas, Co Kildare, was sued by Jana Novakova (36), a mother-of-two, who formerly lived in Wyckham Point, Dundrum, Dublin, and now lives in her native Slovakia, over physical and psychological injuries she received as a result of the accident.

The case was before the Circuit Court last February when the judge directed that, due to the extent of Ms Novakova’s claimed injuries and the limited €60,000 jurisdiction of that court, the matter should be referred to the High Court which has jurisdiction to approve unlimited amounts.

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The case came before the High Court on Friday when Patrick O’Connell SC, with Elaine Power BL, for Ms Novakova, told Ms Justice Carmel Stewart it was only a matter for the judge to assess damages as liability was admitted.

After the case got underway, there were talks between the parties, and it was settled.

Earlier, counsel said the accident occurred on February 9th, 2016, when Ms Novakova was crossing at a pedestrian crossing near her then home in Dundrum. Counsel said the lights were in her favour.

She was using one hand to push a buggy containing her two-month-old daughter and holding her two-year-old daughter with the other hand.

Ms Novakova told the court she and her toddler were counting down the seconds until the lights changed in their favour before they proceeded to cross.

Suddenly, she said, Mr Martin’s BMW drove “very fast” through the red light hitting the pram and throwing the baby out of it.

“I just remember screaming on the whole street, not knowing if you were picking up your baby alive or not”, she said.

She said she eventually picked up the child which, due to being wrapped in blankets, did not suffer bad injuries. However, her baby was not making any sound.

“I was shaking her and sat into the driver’s car and she started to cry”,” she said.

Her husband, who worked nearby, arrived and took the toddler while she and the baby were taken by ambulance to Tallaght hospital. The baby, who had scratches on her head and leg, had been unconscious and was kept in hospital for three days, she said.

As a result of the car hitting the pram as she was holding it, the court heard Ms Novakova suffered injuries to her right arm and shoulder.

It was also claimed she developed post-traumatic stress disorder and continued to suffer from it as a result.

She was on maternity leave as a sales supervisor with Microsoft when the accident happened and when she eventually returned to work, she found she could not concentrate or do her job as well as before.

She suffered from flashbacks and nightmares about the incident and felt she was “going crazy”.

While she loved Ireland she said she “lost my trust here”.

She returned to Slovakia in May 2017 where she received treatment, including for her psychological injuries, she said. The court heard that despite surgery, she continues to suffer pain.

Following talks between the parties, the court was told the case had been settled and could be struck out.

Ms Justice Stewart wished Ms Novakova, who is expecting her third child, the best of luck. The judge said it has “clearly been a difficult and traumatic few years”.

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