Woman suffers broken nose after being  hit by e scooter in Laois 

A woman suffered a broken nose after she was hit by an e scooter and knocked to the ground, a sitting of Portlaoise District Court was told. 

Voinea Madalin (23) of 1 Wilton House, Portarlington, Laois was accused of dangerous driving and having no licence or insurance and failing to provide the same at Main Street, Portarlington on January 18, 2024.

Garda Jason Galvin said he was alerted to an accident on the Main Street in Portarlington. He said they had received a report that a woman was “walking out of the butchers and was struck by an e scooter on the path.”  

He said the woman had been taken to hospital and the e scooter rider had stopped and provided a contact number. 

Garda Galvin contacted the number and travelled to the owner’s workplace where he seized the scooter. He said it was “a normal scooter” and had an “electric motor to propel it”. He said the woman had suffered fall injuries and a nasal bone fracture. 

The defendant told Garda Galvin that he used the scooter to get to work in a restaurant in Emo.  He said the man said he had been on his way to work when the incident occurred. 

Judge Andrew Cody noted the new regulations around e scooters “came in on May 20th” this year and were not applicable at the time. 

Solicitor Philip Meagher asked Garda Galvin about the scooter. He noted the garda had given the scooter to the PSV Inspector to see was it an MPV and what speed it could travel. 

“There was no report done,” he pointed out. 

He said the new regulations around e scooters which categorise the scooters by their power. 

“Some of these scooters under new regulations are not categorised as MPVs,” he said.  

Inspector Joe Culliton called the injured party Marie Gillen to give evidence. 

She recalled leaving the butchers shop on Main Street in Portarlington that morning. 

“I was hit on the left and I was thrown and I landed on my face and broke my nose,” Ms Gillen told the court. 

She said she had just walked out the door when she was struck and “a girl came to my assistance” and she recalled “there was a lot of blood” following the collision. 

When asked how she was now, Ms Gillen said she was fine but she had a scar on her nose and she had an MRI on her knee. 

She agreed with Mr Meagher that she got “an awful shock” when she was struck by the scooter. He said his client hadn’t tried to flee but had remained at the scene and provided details. 

“Would you have lodged any claim for compensation?” asked Mr Meagher. “Yes, I have,” the woman responded. 

Her husband Maurice Gillen also gave evidence at the hearing. He had been sitting in a jeep on the opposite side of the road when the collision occurred and he witnessed the incident. 

Mr Gillen estimated that she had been thrown “eight to ten feet” by the impact. 

“I got out of the jeep and ran over to see was she ok,” he said. 

He then went to the scooter rider and asked for his name and address. “He didn’t want to give me his phone number,” he said.  However, Mr Gillen got the defendant to ring his mobile phone so that he would have a record of the number.

After hearing the evidence, Mr Meagher said he had an “obvious” submission to make to the judge. He said there was no technical evidence whatsoever to confirm the scooter was an MPV. 

“He gave the scooter to a PSV Inspector and for whatever reason a report wasn’t prepared,” said Mr Meagher. 

He said the PSV Inspector in question had since retired but the scooter has been in the possession of gardaí ever since. 

Judge Andrew Cody said “I have heard from Garda Galvin that it did have a motor attached to it.” 

Mr Meagher said it was clearly a case which needed PSV evidence. “I say they have fallen short of a particular threshold,” he said. He added that the injured party had lodged a claim with the MIBI(Motor Insurance Bureau of Ireland) and he believed there “will be another day in the civil court”.

Judge Cody said he was satisfied that it was an MPV and said he had some sympathy for the defendant as the regulations came in a few months later.

However, Mr Meagher said there was no evidence that it was an MPV. He said it might be a different matter if his client had driven from the scene and disposed of the scooter. 

“It has been in the possession of the gardaí for the last ten months,” he said. 

 Inspector Culliton said the defendant had told gardai that he was using the scooter to travel to work in Emo some six or seven miles away and he wouldn’t be able to do that unless it was an MPV. 

“We are venturing into supposition,” said Mr Meagher. 

Judge Cody said that while he was satisfied that it was an MPV some evidence of this had to be produced. 

“Dismiss the charges. That is not to excuse Mr Madalin’s driving on the day,” said Judge Cody.