Another Lawsuit for Bono

[biff]

Here's yet another court case involving the Bono's.
It seems a bit perplexing.
I am posting it for the sake of completeness only:


A day in the life of Bono: from settling with the gardener...
Friday October 14th 2005


A FORMER gardener of rock star Bono appears to have found what she was looking for after she settled a €38,000 personal injury claim with the U2 singer and his wife.

The exact amount of the settlement, announced yesterday in the Circuit Civil Court, was not revealed.

The claim was made by 43-year-old Abigail O'Donovan, of Oldcourt Drive, Bray, Co Wicklow, who sued Bono under his real name, Paul Hewson, and his wife Ali.

Vincent Scallan, counsel for Ms O'Donovan, told the Circuit Court President, Mr Justice Matthew Deery, that the claim had been settled and could be struck out.

In her statement, Ms O'Donovan said she had been employed as a gardener by the couple at their home at Temple Hill, Vico Road, Killiney, Co Dublin, when she had fallen in May 1999, dislocating her shoulder.

She claimed the accident had been caused by the negligence, breach of duty and breach of statutory duty of the Hewsons. She claimed that, while carrying out her duties as a gardener, she had been standing on a platform of stones which were unstable.

The court heard she had stood on the stone platform to survey a wall with a view to finding the best place in which to anchor wires to support a wisteria plant. She had fallen onto the rocks.

She claimed she had been treated by Dr Ernan Gallagher, Carlton Terrace, Bray; Mr Kieran O'Rourke, Loughlinstown Hospital; Mary Kennedy O'Brien, physical therapist, Glenthorn, Bray; and Mr Patrick D'Arcy, osteopath, Castle Street, Bray.

She alleged she had been unable to return to the same type of work she had initially been engaged in and had to change career through a Fas retraining course.

Murray Johnson, counsel for the Hewsons, had entered a full defence to the claim. It was not stated in court if the settlement included a denial of liability.

Mr Justice Deery struck out the case.

 

[arw]

I fell by Bono's house too. I have a scar on my elbow


*edited because I don't know how to spell fell

 

[Schmeg]

That seems ridiculous; I'm sure no one told her to go stand on an unstable pile of rocks, and as a gardener she should have known better.

Re: ARW's fall: ! There's a very nice picture of me laughing my butt off at her while she tends to her bleeding elbow. :greatfriend:

 

[clarityat3am]

Not to take sides or anything, but who assumes that a "platform of stones" is a stable place to stand anyway?

 

[arw]

Re: ARW's fall: ! There's a very nice picture of me laughing my butt off at her while she tends to her bleeding elbow. :greatfriend:

I was laughing just as hard as you were That's the strangest thing I've ever done but now when someone askes me where I got the scar I can say at Bono's house in Ireland

 

[tuwie]

this seems a little overreactive if you ask me

 

[youtooellen]

ppfffbbt. she mustn't a been a sensible gardener then.
honestly, who stands on a platform of stones to survey a wall?

 

[Carek1230]

This is hysterical! What an eejit! Seems to me to be just another money hungry public taking advantage of the wealthy/celebrity. Now I wonder, will she write a book? Sell the rights for a made for TV movie or motion picture?

 

[faithingrace]

I'm sure when she fell her first thought was, "Show Me the Money!"

 

[Meghan]

Not to take sides or anything, but who assumes that a "platform of stones" is a stable place to stand anyway?

People who know that if they would happen to fall, it would be totally worth it cos your boss is a multi-millionaire.

I don't think Bono's in the wrong at all though, from the information i have at least.
He hired her to be the gardener, so he DOESN'T have to concern himself with the stability of his "platforms of stones."
I don't know what exactly she was hired to do, but being in a garden most of the time, you learn where to step and where stepping could result in a dislocated shoulder and a change in careers.

 

[SpanishEyes21]

She probably fell on purpose

 

[rockbaby]

*sigh*

I'm no lawyer, and *I* could probably win this case for Bono and Ali. Since they hired *her* to be the gardener, you'd think that maintaining the stone wall would fall under the duties of a gardener. Since maintaining that stone wall would probably include maintaining its stability, especially seeing as how Bono has small children (let's not forget about John)... at any rate, the stability of the stone wall probably fell under *her* list of responsibilities, not that of the Hewsons. After all - they hired *her* so they wouldn't have to worry about things like that, yes?



*sigh* To quote my co-worker - people should be outlawed.

 

[yolland]

Yeesh. I don't know what "really" happened, or how strong Ms. O'Donovan's case was, any better than anyone else in here--nor do I much care--but I can't believe the feeding frenzy of cold-blooded presumptuousness in this thead.

I'm sure no one told her to go stand on an unstable pile of rocks

honestly, who stands on a platform of stones to survey a wall?

Oh, so you know for a fact that there were other good ways available for her to survey the site then? And you know for a fact that there had been no prior discussion between the parties involved about, for example, repairing the unstable platform? Please cite your evidence for these assumptions.

He hired her to be the gardener, so he DOESN'T have to concern himself with the stability of his "platforms of stones."

So you're aware of what Irish law prescribes about the responsibilities of landowners in such cases, then? Please share. It's quite different from what American law prescribes, if that is really the case.

you'd think that maintaining the stone wall would fall under the duties of a gardener. Since maintaining that stone wall would probably include maintaining its stability, especially seeing as how Bono has small children (let's not forget about John)... at any rate, the stability of the stone wall probably fell under *her* list of responsibilities, not that of the Hewsons.

Stonemasonry is not generally done by gardeners, but if you happen to know something the rest of us don't about the responsibilities specified in Ms. O'Donovan's contract, please post it. I'd be especially interested to see the passage declaring her responsible in the event of any wall-related injuries to Bono's children. After all, she deserves everything she gets if she pitches off a stone wall, but we can't very well say that about a defenseless child, can we?

I'm sure when she fell her first thought was, "Show Me the Money!"

Ever dislocated your shoulder before? It's excruciatingly painful. I wonder what your first thought would be if it happened to you.

She probably fell on purpose

On purpose? Well if so, then she really must be dumb, because then why not go for broke and rack up a contusion, broken jaw and fractured pelvis too. You know...just to pad the kitty.

Now I wonder, will she write a book? Sell the rights for a made for TV movie or motion picture?

But why bother to do that? I mean, who would possibly pay to read or watch such extortionist drivel? Surely no one in here!


For shame. Even if she does turn out to be an opportunistic moneygrubber--and that may be the case--who are we to jump to such conclusions, just because someone we find admirable was on the receiving end? Honestly, I'm appalled by the nastiness in here.

 

[Lil'Bono]

Aww poor Bono, i bet he's lost a lot of sleep after paying out that 38,000 euro, poor guy probably has to remortgage his house!!

 

[MooMoo!]

Aww poor Bono, i bet he's lost a lot of sleep after paying out that 38,000 euro, poor guy probably has to remortgage his house!!

lmao!

 

[BonosBaby12]

I'm sure when she fell her first thought was, "Show Me the Money!"

That was a good one! . Hmmmm guess common sense doesn't apply to some people,lol. You NEVER stand on a pile of unstable rocks! Geez some are idiots,lol.

 

[beau2ifulday]

I'm just surprised we didn't know about this before!

People on here seem to know pretty much everything and anything that's going on with them (in regards to their public life, at least.... and quite a bit about their personal life too, come to think of it!), whether it's major or minor.

 

[FEELINNUMB]

Whoa, I can't believe this thread, yolland is right, people, let's put our heads down on our desks for a few minutes, shall we? First off, biff posted a news item, not briefs from both sides -- we have no idea what is completely involved in this case. And for all we know, the case could really be Bono's insurance company dicking out the details, very routine, but "Bono" in a headline is a hell of a lot sexier than "Mutual of Dublin." This poor woman fell and DISLOCATED HER SHOULDER, when that happened to Bono, everyone was mewing and weeping -- no one said, geez, he's a stupid git, couldn't he see the stage was wet??? This isn't an indictment of the Hewson's, the quality of their home, the safety of their children, the Motherland of Eire or Michael Collins. And this isn't Lola Cashman. Let's get a grip -- PLEBA stops being fun when the line is crossed from fan to fanatic.

 

[BorderGirl]

People, people be kind. Let the law decide....even mere mortals have a right to at least be heard eh?

 

[strwar718]

Hey all. hate to be the bearer of bad news.. but luckily i am in law school lol. We also just finished studying negligence and read cases similar to this one. The owner is usually held liable in these cases. It is the duty of the homeowner to have a stable working environment for the worker (so having a plant that needs to be watered which can only be reached by standing on something which caused her to fall could be dangerous). In some cases the find the worker liable because he/she should have known.

I am sure Bono will be fine paying off this lawsuit..lol.

sorry for the rant...did you guys know U2 kicked ass friday night at MSG..thats all that matters!

 

[U2Kitten]

What if everyone who tried to climb his gates fell and sued him? This person is obviously just after money, and he's lucky there aren't more like her.

How can you sue Paul Hewson, Bono has said, Paul is dead! And he certainly doesn't have Bono's money!

 

[an_cat]

Isn't this like slipping in a puddle at a supermarket?

My great uncle (slimey bastard) used to go and walk around and find something mildly slipery that an employee would have neglected to notice, walk right on it and "slip", then sue them.

Not saying that's what happened, like this lady was all "Hey, look at that unstable pile of rocks I do think that I'll go stand upon them and observe some things! Gee, they do look unstable!", it just reminded me of that.

 

[Liesje]

Hmmm....I don't see any reason to get all up in arms over this. Technically, the property owner DOES have the responsibility of keeping the property safe. For example, I had my landlords replace a few rotten planks on our deck b/c when we moved in, they were so rotten that if someone didn't walk carefully on them, they'd probably step through and break their leg.

38,000 isn't exactly punitive, especially to someone like Bono.

No, you can't sue him if you were injured trying to climb over his wall b/c of many many technical reasons, first of which you can't accuse someone else of negligence when you're commiting a crime at the same time the negligence supposedly occured.

This is really a textbook case for this type of negligence. Also, we don't really have any other info about the case and in most cases (espcially ones involving addidental injury) to sue someone doesn't automatically mean you hate them and are out to get their money. It's just the appropriate legal term for the process of being awarded damages (most likely to cover medical costs because of the injury).

 

[Sue DeNym]

She claimed the accident had been caused by the negligence, breach of duty and breach of statutory duty of the Hewsons. She claimed that, while carrying out her duties as a gardener, she had been standing on a platform of stones which were unstable.

Surely Bono owns a nice, sturdy stepladder which would have been better for her to stand on?!

 

[youvedonewhat]

What bollocks!! Fancy suing him and Ali for such a rediculous claim! As a gardener, there's bound to be risks. For example, will this person be suing next for a thorn prick or slipping up on wet grass? What shite! The lengths ppl will go to to obtain money...It stinks!

 

[kellyahern]

38,000 isn't exactly punitive, especially to someone like Bono.

No, you can't sue him if you were injured trying to climb over his wall b/c of many many technical reasons, first of which you can't accuse someone else of negligence when you're commiting a crime at the same time the negligence supposedly occured.

This is really a textbook case for this type of negligence. Also, we don't really have any other info about the case and in most cases (espcially ones involving addidental injury) to sue someone doesn't automatically mean you hate them and are out to get their money. It's just the appropriate legal term for the process of being awarded damages (most likely to cover medical costs because of the injury).

Yeah, plus it's probably easier to just settle than fight it in court. Wonder why it took six years though? I wonder when it was originally filed .

Also, this part makes me curious:

She alleged she had been unable to return to the same type of work she had initially been engaged in and had to change career through a Fas retraining course.

For a dislocated shoulder? A painful injury, but a career ending one? I know of city maintenance workers who've had worse injuries than that (one poor guy fell off a scafold and nearly shattered his elbow ), but after surgery/physical therapy etc. were able to return to the same work after a period of time.

 

[Liesje]

What bollocks!! Fancy suing him and Ali for such a rediculous claim! As a gardener, there's bound to be risks. For example, will this person be suing next for a thorn prick or slipping up on wet grass? What shite! The lengths ppl will go to to obtain money...It stinks!

So....if you were at work where you expected that things were safe and in working order and suffered a career ending injury, you wouldn't have any problems paying for all the medical bills and covering for lost wages?

A thorn prick doesn't have the potentical to damage ligaments and muscles or require extensive surgery and/or physical therapy.

Like I said before, when you "sue" someone, especially when injury is involved, it's most likely just one party acknowledging their responsibility in the matter and awarding damages according to the injury and what costs that would occur.

We really need to think of this in practical legal terms and not get overly concerned just because Bono is involved. See the wikipedia's page on negligence (it does a pretty decent job of describing how it works, the main parts, etc):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negligence

Not to mention the damages awarded in this case (the 38,000) are NOT extensive and at least with the way medical costs are today, are in my opinion consistent with the injury sustained.

 

[wizard2c]

reply

Mr. B should know better......he should have had a disclaimer out there .....like one of those supermarket signs: "Watch out for slippery rocks".......

 

[longingforBono]

Re: Re: Another Lawsuit for Bono

Surely Bono owns a nice, sturdy stepladder which would have been better for her to stand on?!

I was just going to say I am sure they own a ladder- be it a step or an extension. Something smells like Irish salmon here to me.


(And for the record- I fell outside Bono's back in '93!)

This article did Bono and Ali a real disservice though by telling everyone exactly where to find their home. No wonder they run to France as much as they do- no one can find them there.

Talk about divulging personal information. Maybe a mod should remove the details of the home location out of respect for their privacy. I have never posted certain pictures of his house that I have for the simple fact that they would tell everyone and their brother where to find them and not everyone has respect for them. Some people are too obsessed.

 

[VicksSs]

Maybe the woman's right, maybe not, I don't know much about law, but I know that people who are hired by people who have lots of money, are also quicker to ask for it if something happens. She probably needed the money, but doing such a mess for a dislocated shoulder... I mean it is an injury, but not that bad