A boy who had two accidents at a creche within a few months of each other when he was three years old has settled his High Court action for €56,000.
Sonny Roe, the High Court heard, on the first occasion slipped in a sandpit and struck his head against logs around the edge and three months later fell and hurt his lip when he attempted to climb up on a raised timber flowerbed.
Sonny Roe, now aged six years, of Thormanby Lawns, Howth, Co Dublin, had through his father, Philip Roe, sued Monica Campbell Ltd trading as Little Rainbows, Sutton, Co Dublin, as a result of the two separate accidents.
In an affidavit to the court, Sonny’s father, Philip Roe, said his son suffered two accidents while he was in the care of the Little Rainbows creche, which is located in the grounds of a school in Sutton, Co Dublin.
Mr Roe said in October 2018 his son struck his head on the edge of logs in a sandpit and in January 2019 he slipped and fell and sustained an injury to his lip when he attempted to climb up on a flowerbed area.
Liability
Liability was denied in relation to the first accident in the sandpit, but liability was admitted in relation to the second flowerbed incident.
In the first accident, Sonny sustained a laceration to the right side of his upper forehead. In the second incident, the court heard the injuries were more serious and the boy sustained a laceration to his upper lip and he had to go to hospital where he had surgery.
Approving the settlement, Mr Justice Garrett Simons said he had seen photographs and the child had minor scarring about the lip area and a bulge inside the lip. Happily, the judge said, the boy has made a very good recovery and the scarring was very minor.
The €55,000 damages settlement, the judge said, was reasonable compensation when the fact that the scarring was very minor was taken into account. He also noted there were special damages of €1,000, bringing the total award to €56,000.
