A MAN who feared he’d never be able to fly again after being trapped in a lift was confronted with pics of himself in Rome following the incident.
Gym owner Robert Smith, 39, was seeking compo at the Circuit Civil Court.
Judge Geoffrey Shannon, who heard how the personal trainer had turned down a €15,000 offer to settle his personal injuries claim, awarded the 39-year-old little more than half that amount.
Smith, of Johnstown Place, Johnstown Road, Cabinteely, Dublin, claimed he suffered from claustrophobia following the incident in June 2021, could no longer tolerate confined spaces and had feared he would never be able to fly again.
Making the award and granting Smith limited District Court costs, Judge Shannon said the court had to take into consideration photographic evidence provided by barrister Conor Duff, counsel for defendant Infinity Lifts, Ennis, Co Clare.
The photographs showed Smith throwing a muscular pose in an enclosed one-person sauna following the incident, and also in Rome where he had flown to propose to his partner in front of the Trevi Fountain.
Mr Duff, who appeared with Connolly O’Neill Solicitors for Infinity Lifts, told Judge Shannon that Smith, after a return flight from Rome had, only a few days later failed to tell a doctor, at a medical consultation, about his flying activities.
Judge Shannon said the defendant had conceded that Smith had been trapped in a lift at his apartment block residence until a neighbour had heard his cries for help and had called the emergency services.
The court was being asked to assess damages after Infinity Lifts had conceded fault in the case and Judge Shannon said Smith, whom he found to be a genuine witness, had complained of nightmares and panic attacks.
The judge said the court had difficulty in reconciling the photographic evidence of Smith on holiday and in the confined space of a one-person sauna with his issue of claustrophobia.
Mr Duff had asked the judge not to award Smith any damages or a very small amount.
Rejecting a suggestion by Smith’s barrister that damages should range from between €15,000 and €40,000, Judge Shannon said that under the compensatory guidelines he had to consider fairness and proportionality and measured damages at €8,250.
He also granted Smith his claim for expenses of €2,394.70, bringing the total award to €10,644.70.
Mr Duff told the court that Smith’s legal team had been written to on September 25, 2024, offering their client a settlement of €15,000.
This had been declined, and he sought the judge’s award of District Court costs to be confined up to the date of the settlement offer which Judge Shannon agreed with.
