A €106,000 settlement of compensation for an injury at a caravan park has been approved at the High Court in favour of a seventeen-year-old girl.
When she was just ten years of age, Shauna Burke from Corbally in County Limerick went on holiday with her family to Slattery´s Caravan Park in Lahinch, County Clare. On 17th August 2009, Shauna was playing with friends near the family´s mobile home when she cut her leg on a nail that was alleged to be protruding from a metal box mounted on a pole.
Despite receiving medical attention at the time, Shauna (now seventeen years old) has a visible scar above her knee. Through her father, John, Shauna claimed compensation for an injury at a caravan park against Austin Francis Slattery – the owner of the venue. Slattery denied negligence but, after a period of negotiation, an offer of settlement was made.
As the claim for compensation for an injury at a caravan park was made on behalf of a minor, the offer of settlement first had to be approved by a judge to ensure it was in Shauna´s best interests. Consequently the circumstances of Shauna´s injury were related to Mr Justice Anthony Barr at the High Court.
At the approval hearing, Judge Barr was told that the nail allegedly responsible for Shauna´s injury was a hazard located in an area that was frequented by visitors to the caravan park and should have been removed or replaced. The judge also heard that the €106,000 offer of settlement was comprised of €90,000 compensation for Shauna´s pain and suffering and €16,000 special damages towards future medical treatment.
Judge Barr inspected the scar above Shauna´s knee and approved the settlement of compensation for an injury at a caravan park, commenting that it was a very good offer. The judge then instructed that the compensation settlement should be paid into court funds, where it will remain until Shauna turns eighteen years of age and becomes a legal adult.