Ex-Hurler's €1 Million Payout Reduced by €58,000 After Appeal

A former Limerick senior hurler, Mark Keane, has seen his near €1 million High Court payout from pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson reduced by €58,000 following an appeal. The original award of €944,000 was granted last April for injuries sustained to his right hand, arm, and shoulder.

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Mr Keane told the court that since the injury he was not the man he was, nor the one he hoped to become and felt 'let down' by the famed multinational bluechip company.

Keane suffered the injury in 2018 while working as a technician at Johnson & Johnson's plant in Plassey, Co Limerick. He was attempting to free a work colleague who had become trapped in a machine. At the High Court, Keane described how the injury had profoundly impacted his life, stating he was "not the man he was, nor the one he hoped to become" and felt "let down" by the company.

Johnson & Johnson appealed the award, disputing the extent of the injury and arguing that the judge's findings were legally unsupported. The company acknowledged responsibility for nerve damage and injury to Keane's right hand but contested the claim for shoulder injury. They contended that some of the claimed loss of earnings was attributable to a previous road traffic incident in 2014.

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Johnson & Johnson, listed on the New York Stock Exchange at $566m (€497m), had said the company 'absolutely' accepted responsibility for the injury Mr Keane suffered in the form of the nerve damage and injury to his right hand.

The Court of Appeal ultimately reduced the payout to €886,000. This adjustment accounted for a €42,000 award Keane had already received in 2019 for the 2014 road traffic incident, preventing a double count of losses. The court also revised the calculation of Keane's expected future earnings based on established case law.

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The court said the reduction reflected that Mr Keane had already been awarded €42,000 in 2019 for a road traffic incident in 2014.

During the High Court proceedings, Johnson & Johnson had questioned Keane's evidence regarding his cycling activities. The company pointed to his statement that he had not cycled in years, which he later admitted was untruthful under cross-examination. Keane clarified that he had cycled socially for his mental health after the injury but had not participated in races.

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Johnson & Johnson, at the High Court, claimed that Mr Keane gave 'evidence that he had not cycled a bicycle in years, which he subsequently accepted was untruthful in cross examination'.