Injury
A boy has been awarded €32,500 in a case the boy’s mother took against his crèche. When the boy was two years old, he was standing on a footstool and washing his hands at a bathroom sink in the crèche. He fell and hit his head off the toilet bowl, suffering a gash around his eyebrow. The boy was taken to the Crumlin Children’s Hospital where his wound was treated. The gash to his forehead was taped up.
The boy’s mother brought a personal injuries case against the crèche on behalf of her son. The boy was now seven years old and, although his injury had healed, he was left was a two-centimetre scar in the middle of his eyebrow.
Children’s cases
Children cannot take their own court cases and so an adult must take the case of their behalf. In personal injuries cases, when the two parties agree to settle the case outside court and an offer of compensation is made for the child, a judge must still decide if the amount of compensation is fair. This does not occur when adults bring their own cases. An adult is seen to be capable of deciding that for him or herself. If a judge decides the amount fairly compensates the child for the injury, then the money is lodged in the court office until the child turns eighteen years old, when he or she is then given the money directly.
Award
In the boy’s case against the crèche, the boy’s mother informed the judge that she thought the settlement was a bit ‘light’, indicating she thought the crèche should pay more. However, the barrister representing the boy recommended the figure to the judge as being adequate compensation for the injury he suffered. The judge agreed that €32,500 was a very reasonable settlement in the circumstances of the case and Judge O’Connor made the settlement figure an award of court.
*In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.