Posted: November 25th, 2014
An actress´s legal action for whiplash injuries has been settled out of court during the first day of a hearing in Dublin.
Former “Fair City” actress – Rebecca Smith – took legal action for whiplash injuries after sustaining soft tissue damage on November 24th 2008 during a location shoot in the Mount Merrion Church area of Dublin.
Rebecca – who played the character of Annette Daly in the soap opera – was being filmed while a passenger in a car which was driven by a stuntman employed by RTE. During the filming of the sequence, Rebecca was thrown back and forth in the passenger seat as the stuntman was required to brake sharply on several occasions.
Immediately after shooting the scene, Rebecca – from Killiney, County Dublin – felt pain in her neck and was taken to a local VHI Swiftcare Clinic. Despite receiving prompt treatment, the pain in Rebecca´s neck extended down into her back and through her right arm. Rebecca experienced numbness and tingling all the way down to the fingers of her right hand.
Claiming that her injuries made it impossible for her to sleep, and that she was out of work for a week due to the injuries she sustained, Rebecca took legal action for whiplash injuries against the producers of the show – RTE – claiming that the company was negligent by failing to employ a stunt double during the scene and had thus failed to ensure her safety.
RTE disputed Rebecca´s allegations, and the Injuries Board issued Rebecca with an authorisation in order that Rebecca could pursue her legal action for whiplash injuries through the court process. However, on the first day of the hearing at the Circuit Civil Court in Dublin, Rebecca´s legal representative informed Mr Justice Raymond Groarke that the actress had settled her legal action for whiplash injuries and that the claim could be struck out by the court.
Categories: Passengers in Car Accidents, Whiplash Compensation Claims
