Limerick man who survived 2015 Thomond Bridge collapse settles court action
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A father of two who survived a "very traumatic" crane incident at Thomond Bridge Limerick that claimed the lives of two of his co-workers has settled a High Court action.
At the High Court on Thursday, Hugh Mohan SC, instructed by Holmes O'Malley Sexton solicitors, for Paul Murphy, 45, said all parties agreed that the plaintiff's case could proceed by way of assessment of damages only.
Mr Mohan said liability had been "conceded" in the matter by the named parties.
Mr Murphy took his action against Palfinger Ireland Ltd, Palfinger Europe GmbH, Nationwide Crane Hire Ltd, Paul Mulcair Ltd, Gaelach Droichead Ltd T/A Irish Bridge, Mulcahy Walsh & Co Ltd and Limerick City and County Council.
The fatal incident claimed the lives of Mr Murphy's co-workers Bryan Whelan (29) of O’Briensbridge, Co Clare, and TJ O’Herlihy (36), Castleisland, Co Kerry, who both drowned in the River Shannon as the crane gave way and fell into the river, which had a "very strong" current at the time.
The three were part of a team carrying out cleaning and repointing work from a crane cage on the side of Thomond Bridge, on August 29, 2015, when the tragedy occurred.
The court heard that, while underwater and unable to see, Mr Murphy of Askeaton, Limerick, managed to unhook himself from his harness and that, while his helmet became dislodged, his life jacket activated and he was rescued some 800m downstream by an attending lifeboat crew.
Mr Mohan said Mr Murphy, who cannot swim, had spent what felt like an "eternity" in the water before he was rescued.
Mr Murphy, a stonemason, told the court on Thursday that it was in fact he who requested the life jackets for the job, as the work was close to the water and his inability to swim made him conscious of their need.
When the remaining three men were being lowered by the crane at about 3.30pm, Mr Murphy said he heard a "bang, like someone had gotten a gun and shot it beside your ear — I can still hear it".
Mr Murphy told the court that he shouted to colleagues "we're going into the water".
When Mr Murphy went into the river, he said he could not see through "dark, dirty water with bubbles all around me".
Mr Murphy said he grabbed the harness lanyard connecting him to the cage, which had also entered the water and fallen backwards, to unhook the tethering but it was "hard to know what was up or down".
Mr Murphy said his life jacket inflated and that he kept asking "where are the boys?" while he was still being pushed downstream by the strong current during a flood warning.
Mr Murphy said he saw his brother-in-law on the far side of the river and shouted to him to "tell Karen [Mr Murphy's wife] I'm okay".
"I could hear ambulances and sirens everywhere, it was like a movie set in Beirut or New York," said Mr Murphy.
Mr Murphy was rescued by lifeboat and told the responders that there were "two more" in the water.
The lifeboat went to the scene and Mr Murphy pulled Mr Whelan from the water but found him "lifeless and purple". CPR was performed on Mr Whelan but to no avail.
Counsel told the court that medical reports said Mr Murphy suffered neck and muscular pain but the tragedy had left him "extremely upset and traumatised to this day" and that he suffered flashbacks.
Mr Mohan said his client took a month off work for his health and attended the funerals of the deceased men and regularly called to their families.
Mr Murphy only returned to work because he felt it was the best thing to do to get back into a routine but was still haunted by the experience. Mr Murphy had difficulty sleeping and kept thinking about what he could have done to help his colleagues, the court heard.
Mr Mohan said that Mr Murphy had been assessed by consultants and was found to have met the criteria to be diagnosed with PTSD and would either avoid the bridge or pass by it to remember his colleagues.
The experience led Mr Murphy to "ruminate on how brittle and fragile life is" and that he "thinks about it every day", said counsel.
After the court rose for lunch, Mr Mohan returned to inform Ms Justice Stewart that the matter had now been settled.
Ms Justice Stewart noted that Mr Murphy had gone through a "very traumatic incident" and had "to relive parts" of it. She wished Mr and Mrs Murphy all the best in the future.
On October 7, 2022, Palfinger Ireland Ltd, Church Hill, Cloncollog, Tullamore, County Offaly was fined €25,000 at Limerick Circuit Court after pleading guilty to breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act.
Palfinger had supplied the crane in use on the day of the incident to Nationwide Crane Hire Ltd, Dock Road, Limerick in 2003.
Nationwide Crane Hire also pleaded guilty to breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act and the company was fined €200,000.
Limerick Circuit Court heard that a safety mechanism on the crane that was holding the metal cage containing the men had failed to operate. The defective overload protection safety device for the winch on the crane failed and this led to the winch snapping.
The prosecutions against Palfinger and Nationwide were brought following an investigation by the Health and Safety Authority. The prosecution of Palfinger arose because a manual they supplied with the crane in 2003 had a “missing chapter”.