Mr Justice Raymond Groarke has declined to approve a settlement of injury compensation for an accident at playschool and sent the case for a full trial.
The claim for injury compensation for an accident at playschool was made on behalf of a five-year-old girl from Dublin who, in April 2015, was unsupervised when she climbed onto an open wardrobe and broke her right leg when she fell.
The girl was taken to hospital where she had surgery under a general anaesthetic to manipulate her bones back into position. She was discharged from hospital in a leg cast, and subsequently had to wear a walking boot for several weeks.
Through her mother, the girl made a claim against the Larkin Early Education Centre in Ballybough, Dublin. The claim was assessed by the Injuries Board, following which the playschool made an offer of compensation amounting to €31,000.
On the advice of a solicitor, the family rejected the offer of settlement and the case went to the Circuit Civil Court, where Circuit Court President Mr Justice Raymond Groarke was told the circumstances of the accident and details of the offer.
After hearing that the girl still experiences pain in her right leg as a result of her accident, Judge Groarke agreed that the offer of injury compensation for an accident at playschool was indeed inadequate, and said that the case should be heard in full at a later date to be fixed by the Circuit Court office.
Although the Injuries Board conducted an assessment of the girl´s claim, the offer of injury compensation for an accident at playschool probably did not reflect the true amount of the Injuries Board´s assessment.
According to the Book of Quantum, compensation settlements for a moderate lower leg fracture in which the bones have been displaced range from €40,500 to €70,400. As injuries to the tibia are considered more serious than those to the fibula, the final settlement of injury compensation for an accident at playschool will likely be at the higher end of the range.