DUBLIN, Ireland: Pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson has appealed a 944,000 euros compensation award granted to former Limerick hurler Mark Keane over a workplace accident in 2018.

Keane was injured while helping a colleague trapped in a machine at the company's Vision Care plant in Plassey, Co. Limerick. The High Court ruled in his favor in April, awarding damages for injuries to his right hand, arm, and shoulder. Keane told the court that since the accident, he was "not the man he was, nor the one he hoped to become," saying he felt "let down" by the global company.

A well-known hurler, Keane won three consecutive All-Ireland titles with Limerick's under-21 team from 2000 to 2002 and played senior inter-county hurling from 2000 to 2006.

Johnson & Johnson accepted responsibility for Keane's hand injury, including nerve damage, but denied that the same incident caused his shoulder injury. The company has appealed the decision, claiming the trial judge made errors in law and fact and that there was no clear medical evidence linking the accident to the later shoulder symptoms.

The company said that Keane's medical records did not mention shoulder issues until 2014, six years after the accident, and argued that this delay undermined his claim. It also questioned his credibility, noting that Keane initially said he had not cycled in years but later admitted under cross-examination that he had gone on several long cycling trips in 2019, ranging between 27 kilometers and 105 kilometers.

Keane explained that he only cycled socially with friends to support his mental health after the injury and had not competed or cycled since mid-2019 due to pain.

Johnson & Johnson also argued that parts of the award — including compensation for pension, health insurance, and future earnings — were excessive.

Representing Keane, Michael McMahon SC, said the High Court's decision was based on strong and credible evidence. He noted that the trial judge had carefully reviewed both sides' arguments and reasonably concluded that the shoulder injury resulted from the 2018 accident. McMahon added that an MRI scan in December 2021 confirmed damage consistent with the workplace trauma and that no other cause for the shoulder injury had been found.

In his ruling, Justice Paul Coffey said he preferred Keane's evidence and found a direct connection between the 2018 incident and the emergence of his shoulder problems, which had not existed beforehand.

Keane, now 44, had sued Johnson & Johnson Vision Care (Ireland), claiming the company was negligent and failed to provide a safe workplace and proper safety procedures.

The Court of Appeal is now reviewing Johnson & Johnson's challenge to both the High Court judgment and the amount of damages awarded.