Irish pensioner wins €3 million compensation after Maltese drunk driver left him severely disabled

David Cooley, a 70-year-old pensioner from Cork in Ireland, who had been severely injured by a drunk driver in Malta in 2019, was awarded €3.1million by the Irish High Court.

Cooley had been living in a nursing home and has had to use a wheelchair ever since the accident occurred, the Irish Examiner reported.  The accident occurred on 5 April 2019 at 1am at Windsor Street in Sliema, when Cooley had been walking back to his hotel with his wife and friends, when he was hit by a car and thrown into the air.

He suffered a traumatic brain injury, as well as injuries to his chest, hip, leg and arm and was in an induced coma. Soon after the accident, the Maltese driver from Mosta had been taken in by police for questioning and failed a breathalyzer test.

Cooley's lawyer, Daniel Wall, alleged that the driver had been five times over the legal drinking limit when arrested and criticised the way the case was handled by the Maltese authorities.

“David, on holidays in Malta, was knocked down by a drunk driver who was five times the drink-driving limit when arrested. There has been no prosecution to date in Malta. David left Malta in an air ambulance in April 2019. Since then, there has been no communication from the police service in Malta or the Malta Justice Department,” Wall said.

Cooley had sued Mapfre Middlesea, the insurance company for the driver.

His counsel, Thomas Creed, said Cooley made excellent progress and regained cognitive functions. He said his wife Margaret and their three daughters wanted to be able to care for Mr Cooley at home.