Only in feckin’ Ireland…
A convicted burglar is attempting to sue a shopkeeper for injuries to his genitals he sustained while breaking into a rural shop.
The shop, located in Kingscourt, Cavan, was broken into by three men in November 2015. They broke in at the back of store using a sledgehammer to gain entry, but while they were making their getaway, they were subsequently arrested by armed Gardaí arriving on the scene.
The three men were given suspended sentences for their roles in the burglary, but one of the men suffered an injury during the break-in according to shop owner Kevin, who spoke to Joe Duffy on Monday.
As he fled the shop, one of the men ran into a shelf, injuring his genitals.
“Trying to make his escape, it was probably dark in the store and I think he injured himself on a shelf or a unit… He had a cut to his scrotum,” Kevin told RTÉ’s Liveline
“Reading the medical report on it, he didn’t get a stitch to it. He had one of those [steri] strips and was brought back to the Garda Station.”
However, that was not to be the end of the matter, as Kevin received a notification in the post from the man’s solicitor.
“I got a letter from his solicitor asking me to take all responsibility for the accident,” Kevin said.
“My solicitor advised me to wait and see. We didn’t do anything. His solicitor then, obviously lodged it with PIAB (Personal Injuries Assessment Board) and we then got the letter from PIAB. If we wanted to take part it would cost us €600. If we wanted to take part it would cost us €600.”
Following the break-in, Kevin had to replace the door at the back of the shop and the burglars destroyed the CCTV of the incident.
The burglary is one of a number to have taken place in the area according to Kevin, including other shops and pubs.
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