Man awarded €40,000 in damages after fall from lock gate walkway

A MAN thrown from the walkway of a lock gate has been awarded €40,000 in damages.

Richard Coull fell off the walkway of Baggot Street Lock gate of the Grand Canal in Ireland when it swung open, Janet Friend reports.

Catapulted into the lock

He was catapulted into the empty lock when the gate suddenly opened and suffered a collapsed lung and was stuck there until passers-by rescued him, after which he was rushed to hospital.

Such were his life-threatening injuries that he was in hospital for six days until he could be released.

Consultant Bariatric Surgeon Helen Henegan, told Judge O’Sullivan that emergency advanced trauma and life support treatment was carried out on the man, who received continuous oxygen and intravenous painkilling medication.

No escape ladders

At the hearing this week at Circuit Civil Court, Richard Coull told Judge O’Sullivan he was half way across the wooden walkway on the lock gates, when the gates had suddenly opened tossing him into the lock, adding:

“There was no way of getting out. The lock is quite high and there are no escape ladders. I was pulled out by two men.

“It was terrifying. My rescuers offered me an arm each and pulled me up, laying me down on the grass verge while calling an ambulance,”

The court awarded Richard Coull €41,154 damages, €6,000 of which will have to be repaid for treatment he had received in the private area of St Vincent's Hospital.

Note. The illustration shows the top gates, but oviously the man did not fall from there, as for the gate to swing open the water has to be level and the lock full. So it was obviously the bottom gates he was walking across when he fell with an empty lock thus allowing the gate then able to swing.—Editor.