Family of rugby player who died 11 days after workplace accident settles court action – The Irish Times

The family of a former rugby player who died 11 days after a workplace accident has settled a High Court action over his death.

Peter Meehan (60), a father-of-two who had won the All-Ireland League with Young Munster, died in October 2020 after he had fractured his ankle as he helped unload a ship at Limerick docks.

David Kennedy, barrister for the Meehan family, told the High Court that Meehan died from a pulmonary thrombo-embolism, which is a blockage of the lung artery caused by a blood clot. Counsel said it is a known risk after such a crush injury, and led to Meehan’s untimely death.

Counsel said Meehan, who was a general operative with the Shannon Foynes Port Company, was unloading at the Wilson Dieppe ship on September 29th, 2020, when the cargo shifted.

He said Meehan’s left ankle became trapped between a stack of steel rebar and the ship wall, fracturing the ankle.

Counsel said Meehan died 11 days later, on October 10th, 2020.

The details of the settlement are confidential. The case was before the court for the division of the €35,000 mental distress solatium payment only.

Meehan’s wife, Valerie Meehan, of Ballinacurra, Limerick, had sued her husband’s employer, Shannon Foynes Port Company, with registered offices at Foynes, Co Limerick, and two German companies, the owners and operators of the ship where the accident occurred, over the death of her husband.

They are Ms Wes Melas Schiffahrts GMBH & Co KG and Wessels Reederei GMBH & Co KG, both of Haren, Germany.

In the proceedings, it was claimed there was a failure to provide or maintain a safe workplace or to provide or maintain a safe system of work or safe hold in the ship.

It was further claimed there was a failure to ensure that the cargo was properly secured and a failure to provide a safe working platform for Meehan within the hold of the ship.

Steel rebar it was claimed had been caused to be placed on top of coiled steel, rendering the rebar unstable.

There was, it was contended, a failure to ensure the cargo in the ship was stable and secure prior to and at all times during unloading at Limerick docks.

The cargo it was claimed was caused to shift during the ship’s voyage to Limerick docks, and there was a failure to carry out any or any adequate inspection of the cargo prior to the unloading.

Liability was admitted in the case.

Noting the settlement and the division of the solatium, Judge Paul Coffey extended his deepest sympathy to the Meehan family.