A seven-year-old schoolboy has been awarded €35,000 compensation for injuries in a trampoline accident after a previously negotiated settlement was refused by a judge.
Kevin Stokes from Lucan in County Dublin was playing on a trampoline in July 2012, when his leg went into a gap between the base and the frame. Kevin – who was just five years of age at the time – was taken to Our Lady´s Children´s Hospital, where x-rays revealed fractures to his fibula and tibia as a result of the trampoline accident.
Kevin was admitted to the hospital with a black slab cast surrounding his leg. Several days later the fractures were manipulated and Kevin´s leg was put into an above-the-knee cast. He was discharged from hospital in a wheelchair and the cast stayed in place for a further month.
After the cast was removed, Kevin needed to use a walking frame for several weeks, during which time he was unable to play with his friends and continued to experience pains in his leg. Through his mother – Margaret – Kevin made a claim for compensation for injuries in a trampoline accident against the shop from which the trampoline had been purchased – Smyths Toy Store.
After a forensic engineer had determined that the mechanism for securing the safety clip to the frame was inadequate, Smyths Toy Store acknowledged their liability, and a €25,000 settlement of compensation for injuries in a trampoline accident was negotiated.
However, at the Circuit Court in Dublin, Mr Justice Raymond Groake refused to approve the settlement – saying it was inadequate for the level of injury that Kevin had sustained. Smyths Toy Store increased its offer of compensation for injuries in a trampoline accident to €35,000 and, after hearing that Kevin had made a good recovery from his injuries, the judge approved the settlement.