Latest news with #MV_Epsilon
BreakingNews.ie
a day ago
- General
- BreakingNews.ie
Former war correspondent awarded €17,500 for 'harrowing experience' on Irish Ferries
Former NBC war correspondent Susan Burt has been awarded €17,500 damages against Irish Ferries for what was described in court as 'a hideous and harrowing experience' on the high seas. Burt (75) told the Circuit Civil Court she feared she was going to die when Irish Ferries vessel MV Epsilon had been tossed around, once lurching to an angle of 33 degrees, in Storm Imogen almost 10 years ago during a sailing from Cherbourg to Dublin. Advertisement The court heard that conditions had been so bad the Epsilon had been unable to risk docking anywhere or dropping anchor and had to sail back and forth for 18 hours in what coastal shelter it could find until the storm abated. 'The vessel lurched so violently that people were screaming,' Burt had told Judge Christopher Callan, who had reserved judgment until Friday. 'Things were flying through the air, dishes were smashing, and furniture sliding up and down decks and cabin floors, and when the ship would roll, we had to crawl.' Three children and four other adults, including Ms Burt's partner Chris Sawyer, had earlier accepted settlements ranging from €14,500 in the case of the children to €23,000 in Mr Sawyer's claim. He had been physically injured during the storm. Advertisement Ms Burt told her barrister, John Wilde Crosbie, who appeared with Evan O'Dwyer of O'Dwyer Solicitors, Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo, that she had lived through a horrific nightmare. She said the ship would turn over so far after having been hit by huge waves that passengers felt it would capsize. The Epsilon had docked a day late on February 9th, 2016. Ms Burt and her partner had been travelling to visit friends in Co Mayo. Ireland Court throws out damages case brought over wheelba... Read More Judge Callan said that while Ms Burt had not, according to psychiatric reports, reached the threshold of having suffered from PTSD, she had nevertheless been exposed to sustained and continuous shock, an experience she should not have had to endure. 'I thought I was going to die. I felt 'this is it',' she had said. 'We were being thrown about and our car was absolutely squashed as vehicles criss-crossed the car deck.' Advertisement When barrister Roisin Haughey, counsel for Irish Ferries, had raised an issue on the amount of legal costs Ms Burt should be awarded, considering the lower award for damages in her €60,000 claim, Judge Callan said he felt she should receive full Circuit Court costs. 'In fairness to the plaintiff, these unusual proceedings have been going on for quite a long time, and the court was impressed with her evidence,' Judge Callan said. 'She did not in any way exaggerate what had happened to her.'
BreakingNews.ie
04-06-2025
- Health
- BreakingNews.ie
Former war correspondent felt she would die during 'harrowing' Irish Ferries journey
A former war zone correspondent for NBC has told a judge she feared she was going to die in raging seas when Irish Ferries vessel MV Epsilon was dramatically tossed around during Storm Imogen almost 10 years ago. Retired journalist Susan Burt (75) said in the Circuit Civil Court on Wednesday that she, her partner Chris Sawyer and seven passengers from Co Mayo had felt they were not going to survive during what she described as a horrific nightmare over three days when the Epsilon had been unable to dock anywhere during a three-day journey from Cherbourg to Dublin. Advertisement Barrister John Wilde Crosbie, counsel for Ms Burt told Judge Christopher Callan the vessel had been forced to sail back and forth during the storm until the weather improved and it could continue to Dublin. It had set out on February 7th, 2016 and had not docked in Dublin a day late on the 9th. 'The vessel lurched so violently that people were screaming,' Burt, who lives in England and Brussels, told the court. 'Things were flying through the air, dishes were smashing and furniture sliding up and down decks and cabin floors. As the ship would roll we had to crawl.' She said the ship would turn over so far after being hit by huge waves that passengers felt it would capsize. It seemed to go on forever. 'It was a very long drawn out harrowing and awful experience,' she told Mr Crosbie, who appeared with Evan O'Dwyer of O'Dwyer Solicitors, Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo. Advertisement 'I thought I was going to die. I felt 'this is it,'' she said. 'We were being thrown about and our car was absolutely squashed as vehicles criss-crossed the car deck.' In 2023 Noel Rowland, of Bridgemount, Belcarra, Castlebar, Co Mayo, his wife, and three children, Florence, Beau and Jude, now all resident in Brussels; Chris Sawyer, also Brussels, and two other passengers also living in Brussels but with Irish connections, settled their claims against Irish Ferries. Ireland Man released without charge after death of woman o... Read More At that time the court approved settlement offers of €14,500 each for the three Rowland children. Other settlements were not disclosed. Ms Burt's claim was put back until today for full trial. Cross-examined by defence barrister Roisin Haughey, who appeared with Noble shipping Law Solicitors for Irish Ferries, Ms Burt said she had not developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and had not been physically injured during the harrowing experience. Advertisement Psychological experts for both parties put the absence of PTSD and her not having a requirement for medication down to her stoic attitude and impressive personal coping ability. Her counsel said she had nevertheless suffered psychological damage as a result of her experience. Judge Callan reserved judgment on his assessment of damages in a case in which Irish Ferries had conceded liability.
