Personal injuries claim struck out due to inordinate and inexcusable delay by plaintiff

The High Court struck out the plaintiff's claim for personal injuries arising from an alleged assault in a residential care facility, citing inordinate and inexcusable delay by the plaintiff in progressing the proceedings. The court found that the plaintiff was responsible for prolonged periods of inactivity totalling over two years, well before any significant delay attributable to the defendants, resulting in unavoidable prejudice due to the deterioration of witness memory and the passage of almost a decade since the incident. The court determined that no lesser case management measure could restore the possibility of a fair trial, and that the interests of justice required the immediate end of the proceedings despite some contributory delay on the part of the defendants.