Teenager Awarded 110,000 Euros for Eye Injury

A teenager who sustained an eye injury when his eye was impaled on an exposed milking machine hook is to receive 110,000 Euros in compensation. Mr. Justice John Quirke heard at the High Court how David Booth, 17, of Stradbally, County Laois was just eight years of age when he sustained the horrific injury in the milking parlour at his family’s farm in April 2002.
Although David has no recollection of the events leading up to the accident, it was claimed that the defendants – Senior Milking Machine Company Ltd and Stradbally Farm Services Ltd, both of Stradbally, County Laois – were negligent on the grounds that the milking machine was not designed and constructed to a safe standard.
The defendant denied the claim, brought on David’s behalf through his elder sister Elaine, and also that they permitted an exposed hook to be present on the machine with no consideration of the hazard it presented. The settlement was approved by Mr Justice John Quirke without admission of liability.