Supreme Court overturns €111,000 paid to amputee who fell asleep on train tracks

[Colm Donoghue]

From today's Indo

Supreme Court overturns €111,000 paid to amputee who fell asleep on train tracks


A MAN who had to have part of his leg amputated after being hit by a train when he fell asleep beside a railway track was yesterday told by the Supreme Court he was the author of his own misfortune.

Derek Raleigh (31), a panel beater, of Arden Road, Tullamore, had sued Iarnrod Eireann over the accident, which occurred between 3.30 and 4.30am on Sunday, August 12, 1995, on the Clara-Tullamore railway line.

Iarnrod Eireann, Chief Justice John Murray said, could not be liable for the tragic accident after Mr Raleigh fell asleep beside the track "with a feed of drink on him" in the early hours of the morning.

The Supreme Court overturned an earlier High Court award of €111,000 damages to the man, who was 20 years of age at the time of the accident.

Chief Justice Murray said Iarnrod Eireann could not be expected to foresee such acts of "folly" or "stupidity" by adults who came onto its property.

The situation was different when children were involved, he added.

The Chief Justice also stressed that no blame whatever could be attributed to the train driver who had to deal with the sudden appearance on the railway track of Mr Raleigh and his girlfriend in the early hours of the morning on August 12, 1995.