Injury Compensation News

A girl, who tripped and fell in a hole due to the alleged negligence of an international construction company, has had her settlement of child trip and fall compensation approved at the Circuit Civil Court.

Kodie Geoghegan Dowdall (12) of Ballymun, Dublin was on her way to visit her aunt in December 2006, when she tripped and fell into a hole which had been dug by the construction company SIAC. Sustaining a cut to her head which has since developed into a permanent scar, Kodie made a child accident claim against the company through her mother.

Circuit Civil Court President, Mr Justice Matthew Deery, heard that SIAC Construction denied that they had been negligent but were willing to offer a settlement of 20,000 Euros in child trip and fall compensation. After hearing that the scar could be treated with excision and resuturing once Kodie turned eighteen, Mr Justice Matthew Deery approved the compensation settlement.

A teenage boy who fell and broke his wrist on a Dublin City Council playground has had an offer of compensation in respect of his playground accident claim approved at the Circuit Civil Court.

Terence Power (15) from Dublin fell in the playground at St. Mary´s Place while playing football with friends. The accident occurred after Terence caught his foot in a poorly maintained perimeter fence and, after X-rays revealed that he had suffered an undisclosed fracture of the left wrist, Terence had to wear a plaster cast for five weeks.

Circuit Civil Court President, Mr. Matthew Deery, heard how the accident had hindered Terence´s training to be a boxer and that Dublin City Council had offered 12,000 Euros in settlement of Terence´s playground accident claim. Mr. Deery was told by Terence´s legal representatives that Terence and his family were happy to accept the offer of playground fall compensation, which was duly approved.

A boy, who received permanent facial injuries when walking through an unmarked plate glass door while on holiday in Spain, has had the compensation award for his child accident claim approved in the Civil Circuit Court.

Hayden Carr (8) from Dublin was just six years of age when the accident happened while on holiday with his family at the Spanish resort of Salou. Going out onto the apartment balcony, Hayden failed to notice that the glass balcony door had been closed and walked straight into it, smashing the glass and receiving a terrible gash to his forehead.

The injury left a scar which will be Hayden for the rest of his life and, on their return to Dublin, Hayden´s parent sought legal advice about making a child accident claim for compensation against Budget Travel Ltd of Dublin – the agents through which the Carr´s had booked their holiday.

Showing evidence that the plate glass door had been unmarked in contravention of European law, the travel company´s insurers admitted liability for the injury and, as Circuit Court President Mr Justice Matthew Deery heard at the Dublin Circuit Civil Court, agreed a compensation payment of 17,500 Euros.

Mr Justice Matthew Deery approved the settlement, which will now be held in court funds until Hayden reaches the age of eighteen.

Four children, who were passengers in a car accident when the vehicle driven by their mother was in collision with a Garda patrol car, have been awarded a total of 26,000 Euros in personal injury damages.

Dean McEvoy (15) and his three sisters, Lauren (13), Cody (11) and Megan (10), were travelling with their mother – Lorraine McEvoy of Crumlin, Dublin – when the accident occurred on the Tallaght bypass in November 2005.

Circuit Civil Court President, Mr Justice Matthew Deery, heard that the Garda patrol car that struck the McEvoy car was being driven “at some degree of urgency”, but without its siren or warning lights on.  Lorraine McEvoy and her four children all sustained soft tissue injuries as a result of the impact.

Mr Justice Matthew Deery also heard that the State had accepted liability for the accident only after a lengthy dispute was settled in the High Court and he was asked to approve agreed settlements of 6,000 Euros for Megan and Lauren, 6,500 Euros for Dean and 7,500 Euros for Cody who had been the worse injured of the child passengers in car accident.

A young boy, who was knocked down by a van as he played near his home, has had a car accident injury claim settlement of 17,500 Euros approved in the Circuit Civil Court.

Warren Lavelle (6) of Tallaght, Dublin, was hit by the van on July 13 2008, when he was only three years of age. He suffered head injuries as a result of the accident and has been left with a permanent scar on his head.

The driver of the van – John Connors, also of Tallaght, Dublin – admitted liability for the accident and, at the Circuit Civil Court in Dublin, Judge Jacqueline Linnane heard that the case was before her to approve the agreed settlement.

After noting that the scar was still visible, Judge Linnane approved the car accident injury claim settlement of 17,500 Euros.

A four year old child, who sustained a burn injury to his foot in a medical accident when he was just a few days old, has had a compensation settlement of 10,500 Euros approved in the Circuit Civil Court.

Fabien Napierski of Kinlough, County Leitrim, was just four days of age when the medical accident occurred at his home in 2007. A nurse, who was warming his foot prior to conducting a blood test, used water from a recently boiled kettle without first testing its heat.

Circuit Court President, Mr Justice Matthew Deery, heard that the Health Service Executive had agreed to pay Fabien 10,500 Euros in compensation for the medical accident without admission of liability and the case was before him for approval of the settlement.

After hearing the facts of the claim, and considering the amount of the award, Mr Justice Matthew Deery approved the settlement as was presented to him.

A teenage girl, who sustained an Erb´s Palsy injury due to an alleged breach in the duty of care at her birth, has had a birth injury compensation settlement of 850,000 Euros approved in the High Court.

Sarah O´Sullivan (14) of Blarney, County Cork, suffered a shoulder injury during her birth at Cork City General Hospital in 1997 which resulted in her being diagnosed with right-sided Erb´s Palsy as she grew older.

Claiming that the management of her birth was mishandled and that the injury could have been avoided with due diligence, Sarah sued the hospital and consultant obstetrician Dr. Patrick Kieran through her father, Kevin.

Both Cork City General Hospital and Dr. Kieran denied the claims made against them, but the High Court heard that they had agreed to a birth injury compensation settlement of 850,000 Euros without admission of liability.

A fourteen year old schoolgirl, who was falsely accused of shoplifting from Penney´s shoe store in Dublin, has had a compensation settlement for mental distress approved by the Circuit Court.

Sarah Coughlan of Dublin was purchasing a pair of shoes at the Henry Street store in May 2010 when she noticed that they were slightly soiled. A sales assistant told Sarah that she could take another pair instead but, as the teenager was leaving the store, she was apprehended by a store security man and accused of shoplifting.

Despite being able to display the receipt of the purchase, Sarah was searched and escorted to a basement office where she was interrogated over the alleged theft. Sarah´s requests to call her mother were denied but, while she was temporarily left alone, she was able to get a message through to her mother about her situation.

Mr Justice Matthew Deery heard at Dublin´s Circuit Court that only after the arrival of the Gardai and Sarah´s mother was she allowed to go home and, although not having suffered any physical harm, was mentally distressed. Sarah´s mother sought legal advice and made a personal injury claim against the store on Penny´s behalf.

Although the store denied the complaint of false arrest and defamation, an offer was made of 15,000 Euros personal injury compensation, which was accepted by Sarah and her mother. Approving the award, Mr Justice Matthew Deery said that Sarah had undergone a very bad experience and, in addition to the compensation settlement, also awarded her costs of 5,000 Euros.

A sixteen year old schoolboy, who sustained deep cuts in his thigh when climbing over a supermarket car park fence, has had a child accident claims settlement of 36,800 Euros approved in the Circuit Civil Court.

Michael Hogan of Firhouse, County Dublin, was just eleven years of age when the accident happened in 2006. Climbing over a supermarket car park fence at the Firhouse Shopping Centre, he caught his leg on a protruding and unprotected nail, which tore a deep V-shaped wound into the inside of his left thigh.

Michael´s injuries were so severe that he had to have a double layer of inner flesh stitched together under a general anaesthetic and, although he has recovered now, will be left with a permanent scar as a reminder of his injury.

Liability for the injury was not contested by the owners of the Firhouse Shopping centre – Colverton Limited – and Mr Justice Matthew Deery heard that the defendants had made a settlement offer of 36,800 Euros. The judge approved the offer, ordering that it should be invested in court funds until Michael´s 18th birthday in March 2015.

Mr Justice John Quirke has spoken out against delays in introducing “periodic payment orders” for personal injury compensation cases in which catastrophic injuries have been sustained. Describing the current lump-sum award system as “a lottery situation”, the chairman of the Working Group on Medical Negligence has been pressing for more than a year for a periodic payment system to be introduced.

The judge was addressing lawyers representing the State and Health Service Executive when his concerns about delays in the promised legislation were made public. Mr Justice John Quirke told the assembly that the informal approval of a life-long payments system had already saved the State “tens of millions” of Euros, however he claimed that seriously ill people would be in an unsatisfactory position if the laws were not speedily introduced.

The judge brought to the lawyers attention two specific cases which are due for review in October 2011.

The first concerned Brid Courtney of Ardfert, County Kerry, who was awarded an interim personal injury settlement of 2 million Euros in compensation for alleged negligence at her birth. Now suffering the consequences of birth-acquired brain damage, Brid will need lifelong care – care which should be paid for in periodic payments if legislation is passed in time.

The second case revolved around Elaine Lennon of Balbriggin, County Dublin, who is now severely disabled due to the failure of the Castle Mill Medical Centre to properly diagnose a brain infection during her pregnancy. Elaine too was awarded in excess of 2 million Euros as an interim settlement on the basis that she would benefit from the periodic payments structure once legislation was introduced.

In his comments to the lawyers, Mr Justice John Quirke expressed that if the State failed to quickly make its intentions clear about how soon periodic payment legislation was to be introduced, judges would have no option but to revert to sanctioning lump sum payments – at great expense to the State and Health Service Executive.