Ex-Limerick hurler is 'totally different man' after workplace accident, wife tells court
High Court reporters
A former Limerick senior hurler who is seeking damages after a workplace accident at a Johnson & Johnson factory left him unable to work is "a totally different man" according to his wife and has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the High Court has heard.
Mark Keane's wife, Karen, on Wednesday told the court that her husband was a "totally different man from who he had been" before the incident.
The personal injury hearing is now in its fourth day after mediation talks proved fruitless.
Mr Keane has told the court that he was "not the man he was, nor the one he hoped to become" because of the injuries, felt "let down" and "mentally destroyed”.
An accomplished hurler, Mr Keane won three consecutive All-Irelands with Limerick under-21s between 2000 and 2002 and played senior from 2000 to 2006.
Mr Keane has taken his case against Johnson & Johnson Vision care (Ireland) over the incident that occurred in September 2018 at their plant in the National Technological Park, Plassey, Co Limerick.
The 43-year-old is alleging Johnson & Johnson were negligent and breached their duty of care towards him on September 10th, 2018, while he was working as a technician making contact lenses. Mr Keane alleges the company failed to provide him with a safe place of work and a safe system of work and is seeking damages.
Mr Keane's lawyers, HOMS Assist, submit that this incident caused the plaintiff to suffer sustained, continuous and severe personal injury, as well as loss, damage, inconvenience and expense.
Murray Johnson SC, for Johnson & Johnson, has said the company "absolutely" accepted responsibility for the injury Mr Keane suffered in the form of the nerve damage and injury to his right hand but did not accept responsibility for his claim of injury to his right shoulder.
On Wednesday Mr Keane's wife, Karen, told Michael McMahon SC, for the plaintiff, that her husband was a "totally different man from who he had been" before the incident.
Mrs Keane said the accident had affected their marriage, family life, careers and mental health. She said things had gotten "very hard" and that she was "very worried about Mark and his mental health".
"If he is late home, I am just hoping he comes home," she said, adding that she sometimes counts to three at the front door before she leaves the house to prepare herself and put on a smile.
Professor Dominic Harmon, a consultant in anaesthesia and pain medicine, said he assessed Mr Keane in 2021 and compiled a medical legal report in 2024 on MRI scans and injections the plaintiff underwent.
Prof Harmon said it was his diagnosis that the injuries to Mr Keane were consistent with the incident at the factory. He said Mr Keane had been in a 2014 car crash that damaged a hip and his lower back but had been pain-free in the period before the incident at the factory.
He said Mr Keane suffered "more than one impact and that goes to the finger, to the elbow, to the shoulder, to the neck".
Prof Harmon was asked to give an estimate for how long Mr Keane will need treatment for his injuries, including his shoulder, and estimated "three to five years".
When asked from where he believed the injuries originated, Prof Harmon said "from the one work-related injury".
Prof Harmon said he was also a qualified psychologist and had diagnosed Mr Keane as suffering with PTSD.
The consultant, who is also recognised in sports pain medicine, said "you would not expect a hurling player to have these issues with the neck and shoulder".
Dr Cian Aherne, a clinical psychologist, told Andrew Walker SC, also for the plaintiff, that he assessed Mr Keane in April 2024 and also concluded that Mr Keane's symptoms were consistent with PTSD.
Dr Aherne said the plaintiff retained a "very vivid memory of every single aspect of the event", and that he suffered flashbacks and nightmares.
The psychologist said Mr Keane suffered with "catastrophising regret" at what happened and that the plaintiff had told the doctor that the machine had been "defective" and was found not to be up to standard "a few days prior to the incident".
He said Mr Keane suffered anger, anxiety, trauma and felt useless and stigmatised in that he could no longer provide for his family.
Dr Aherne said that the plaintiff was "far, far above the general requirement" for a PTSD diagnosis.