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A FIVE-YEAR-old girl, who cut her leg to the bone on a knife-edged metal toilet roll holder in her home, was awarded €40,000 damages in the Circuit Civil Court today.
Barrister Ray Delahunt told the president of the Circuit Court, Justice Raymond Groarke, that Katie Carroll McGowan’s mother, Maria, had bought the stand-alone roll holder in a Heatons store.
She had placed it in the family apartment bathroom at Glenn Na Heorna, Cookstown Road, Springfield, Tallaght, where it had been used for a number of months before the accident.
Delahunt, who appeared with BP O’Reilly solicitors for Katie and her mother, told the court that the child had been washing her hands in the bathroom when she had slipped and knocked her leg against a hinged metal flap that secures the toilet roll on the holder.
“Katie cut her right leg to the bone just above her shin,” Delahunt said.
Her mother heard a noise and found her bleeding heavily. She tried to stem the bleeding while an ambulance was called.
He said Katie had been taken to the emergency department of Tallaght Hospital, where she had been admitted and had the wound cleaned and stitched while under general anaesthetic.
Permanent scar
Consultant paediatrician Ciara Martin told the court in a medical report that Katie, now aged seven, had a four-inch long, two-inch-deep wound extending through the skin, fat and muscle to the bone.
She had been admitted to the hospital for several days and had been off school for two weeks.
Dr Martin said Katie had been left with a very prominent scar that should continue to heal but would remain permanent.
She had made a good recovery, with no loss of function of her leg.
Katie’s mother told Judge Groarke that the toilet roll holder had an edge on it as sharp as a knife.
Mr Delahunt said liability had not been questioned by Heatons and that the department store had offered a settlement of €40,000, which he recommended to the court.
The offer was accepted by Judge Groarke.
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A whiff of compo culture here. Surely whoever fitted the toilet holder must have noticed the razor sharp edge? Does the ultimate responsibility not lie with that person?
I doubt somehow it was razor sharp… after this claim they will all be removed!
No, the responsibility is with the supplier who provided a dangerously faulty product.
Never again will a razor sharp toilet holder be sold in Heatons
Come on JayK, you’re telling me you’d fit a toilet holder with a sharp edge? if it was that dangerous it should have been returned to Heatons. I feel sorry for the injured child but this claim is unjustified against Heaton’s alone.
Surely whoever made the holder is the liable one?
there may be more details to this than we are aware of, but going on what information is available….
i as a parent am responsible for the welfare of my children. if I placed an item in a bathroom then I must make sure it is safe to be around the kids. No point in me coming along months later and saying it suddenly is dangerous.
was it dangeroous from day 1? If so, why did the parent leave it in place?
if it wasn’t dangerous from day 1, then did the inanimate object suddenly become dangerous?
again i don’t know all the facts but surely some responsibility must lie with us parents?
So if Ford sell you a car with faulty breaks that cause an accident, is that your fault? If you buy an electric blanket that sets your house on fire, whose responsibility should it be? If you order a meal in a restaurant and there was a razor blade left in your bowl, is it your responsibility to check your potatoes with a metal detector before you dig in?
Thankfully most people have a brain and don’t argue against their own consumer rights like a turkeys for Christmas. The reason the items you buy are safe and work as intended is because the law demands that they do. As a consumer you have a right to expect items you purchase not have unguarded razor blades attached to them and Ireland is a better place for it.
Heatons are clearly at fault. That’s why the girl got 40k.
Correct Bull
-SOG & SOS Act 1980
@ Lloyd. …They are : but ever tried serving an Irish summons in. ..China ??
It says in the article that it was a free standing toilet roll holder. It wouldn’t have been fitted.
Not a 5 year old!!!
I’m off to heatons today, anyone know if they are still selling those toilet roll holders??
I suddenly need a new one…
Did they not notice that it was sharp when they bought it ?
Why are you asking him Suzie?
Karol , it was just a general question .
Bog standard award!
Must check my receipts, I’m sure I have one that I’ll arrange to have a “little slip” on later, a nice 40 grand for Christmas, lovely!!
Careful what you cut with your little slip…..wouldn’t want you going all falsetto.
Christmas 2 years probably
You know what, the item was clearly dangerous but 40k for pain and a permanent scar on a leg (not face). Ridiculous amount of money. Ridiculous.
Is that judge taking the p***?
Claims on a roll.
Is the barrister on commission and related to the judge?
Growing up with a double-barrelled surname is probably going to be a bigger scar for the unfortunate child
How low was the toilet roll holder and how tall was the 5yr old ….sounds like a very “awkward” fall!!!!
Why sue a company when it was probbaly the fault blood money
have your say