Posted: November 12th, 2012
A woman from Berkshire, England has been awarded €9,000 in compensation at the High Court for neck injuries she sustained during a Go-Karting accident at Kylemore Indoor Karting racetrack in Dublin. Karen Wimpory (31) had been in Dublin on a hen’s party weekend at the time of the accident in March 2009.
Wimpory, who signed a disclaimer stating that the track owner could not be held liable for injury “in the absence of any negligence on the party of the company” and watched a training video prior to getting into her kart, was injured when a race marshal stepped out onto the track without warning, causing her to brake and the driver behind her to slam into the back of her kart.
After her accident Wimpory sought legal advice from a personal injury claims solicitor and pursued a claim for neck injury compensation against Grovepark Services Ltd, which trades as Kylemore Karting, claiming that the neck injuries she sustained were the brought about by the negligence of the company.
Justice Matthew Deery decided to approve Wimpory’s request for neck injury compensation after deciding that despite the fact that the plaintiff had watched a safety video, there were no instructions provided to her about what to do if the warning lights on the track were illuminated. Deery also heard how the karts did not have neck restrains or headrests fitted, and how novice racers should have been told to sit at full extension.
Two of Kylemore Karting’s management team, racetrack designer Stewart Cosgrave and race controller Denis Gaffney, said that although it was unlikely that a race marshal would walk onto the track while the karts were travelling at speeds in excess of twenty miles per hour, the marshal in question is not available to provide evidence as he has since died in a road traffic accident.
Categories: Car Accidents, Road Traffic Accidents, Whiplash from Car Accidents
