A three year old girl, who lost the tip of her fingertip in a nursery pushchair accident, has had a product liability compensation settlement of 20,000 Euros approved in the Circuit Civil Court.
Roisin Longo of South Finglas, County Dublin, was just two years of age when her fingertip was sliced off in the hinge mechanism of her MacLaren Techno XT while she was attending Mellow Spring Childcare Development Centre in Finglas West.
Fast acting staff at the crèche found the fingertip and packed it ice so that her mother, Ms Elaine Deans, could take Roisin to hospital and attempt to have the amputated fingertip sewn back on.
However, as Circuit Court President Mr Justice Matthew Deery heard, the best efforts of surgeons at Temple Street Children´s Hospital could not prevent the tissue dying and the fingertip eventually falling off.
After seeking legal advice, Ms Deans discovered that revealed the pushchair model had been recalled in the United States, and repair kits issued to customers due to acknowledged problems with the hinge mechanism. Even though the pushchair had been manufactured in England, and conformed to British and EU safety standards, Ms Deans filed a claim for product liability compensation against MacLaren Europe Limited, of Northampton, England.
Without accepting liability, MacLaren Europe Limited had made a settlement offer of 20,000 Euros – a settlement offer which Roisin´s mother was prepared to accept and which Mr Justice Matthew Deery had pleasure in approving.