A High Court judge has approved a €1.5 million settlement of compensation for an arm amputation accident that resulted in a young child having his arm cut off by a lawnmower blade.
Conor Byrne (6) from Kilva in County Cork was just two years of age when the accident occurred in his aunt´s garden in Carrigogna in May 2009.
Conor had been playing on the patio of his aunt´s home while his mother was helping her sister plant flowers in the garden, but the little boy slipped down the embankment onto the lawn where his cousin was operating a drive-on lawnmower.
Despite the lawnmower having a protective guard shielding the blade, Conor´s right arm went under the guard when he fell and it was amputated just below the elbow. Conor was rushed to Cork University Hospital, but doctors were unable to re-attach the severed arm.
At the High Court in Dublin, Mr Justice Feeney heard that Conor´s father – Ciaran – had made a compensation claim for an arm amputation accident against his wife´s sister and her husband – Mary and Tom Keohane – and that a settlement of €1.5 million had been agreed.
The judge was also told that the value of compensation for the arm amputation accident had been calculated with consideration of Conor´s future anticipated losses and included the cost of adaptations to the family home in Kilva.
Mr Justice Feeney approved the settlement of compensation for an arm amputation accident after hearing that, despite losing his predominant arm, Conor was getting on well at school.