Posted: March 9th, 2019
A personal injury compensation award of €150,000 has been approved in the High Court in relation to the injuries sustained, during a vicious assault, on a mother of two following an assault by the father of her two children, her former partner.
The man responsible for the assault – Jonathan McSherry (36) was handed a 3.5 years prison term of which he served 22 months. Mr McSherry told the Judge that he broke almost every bone in Ms Bowes face and kicked her many times during the vicious assault in December 2015.
A former soldier, Mr McSherry said sorry to Ms Bowes whose civil action was before the High Court for a final assessment of damages.
Ms Bowes was assaulted by Ms Bowes as she was getting out of a taxi at her Clondalkin home following as she was returning from a night in town on December 20, 2015. Mr McSherry was waiting there for her and CCTV showed him pulling Ms Bowes from the taxi, hitting and kicking before he dragged her to the ground. The attack lasted 90 seconds during which Ms Bowes fell unconscious twice due to blows before she escaped to the safety of a neighbour’s house.
Before reaching safety she tried to shield herself by crawling under a car. She told the High Court that she believes she was kicked around 20 times. After the attack she has been unable to close her lips due to the damage inflicted and she thinks that her face looks deformed. Doctors had to insert a permanent metal plate in her mouth to realign the facial bones. Psychological testimony indicated that Ms Bowes had symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic anxiety and suffered from bad dreams. She is also afraid for her own safety and that of her children. Psychologists said that she is massively damaged and fragile.
After the €150,000 compensation award was announced by the presiding Judge, Ms Bowes released statement saying she hopes the ruling and personal injury compensation award will influence other victims of domestic violence opting to submit legal cases.
She commented: “I hope this will act as a deterrent, that people will realise there are possible large financial consequences as well as the threat of prison for this sort of violence. I’ve already had people write to me about it. One woman sent me a letter and a holy medal on Tuesday thanking me for my courage and asking me to pray for her so that she could find courage to tell the truth too. “She went to the bother of writing the letter, getting a stamp and posting it”.
“I was very upset for her and I will pray for her. She signed the letter ‘an old lady’, and it shows this can happen to anyone from any background. I just hope now that with International Women’s Day coming tomorrow, women everywhere will find the courage to speak out” Ms Bowes added.
Ms Bowes concluded saying: “I hope women young and old will that find strength. It’s important for women to realise help is there for them – from places like Women’s Aid – [and] that legal advice and professional help is available.”
Categories: Personal Injury Accidents
