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A FOUR-YEAR-OLD schoolboy, who suffered a crush injury to his right index finger while attending a Dublin creche, has been awarded €20,000 damages in the Circuit Civil Court.
Barrister John Nolan told the court that Alex Orsi was almost two-years-old in April 2014 when his finger got caught in the hinge of a door at Giraffe Childcare creche, Charlemont Street.
The court heard that Alex’s finger was lacerated in the incident and had been bleeding. His nail had also been damaged.
Mr Nolan said Alex first attended his GP before being taken to Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin, Dublin, where X-rays revealed no fracture to his finger.
Circuit Court President Mr Justice Raymond Groarke heard that Alex suffered a partial amputation to the pulp of his finger.
Alex Orsi, of Merlyn Park, Ballsbridge, Dublin, had been referred to the plastic surgery team at the hospital and had surgery under general anaesthetic the next day.
Through his father Sebastian Orsi, a stock broker, Alex sued Giraffe Chilcare, with a registered address at Adamstown Avenue, Castlegate, Adamstown, Lucan, Co Dublin, for negligence.
Mr Nolan, who appeared with Peter Morissey & Co solicitors, said the creche had admitted liability and had made a settlement offer of €20,000 damages which he recommended to the court.
Judge Groarke, hearing that Alex had made a full recovery and the wound had left a minor scar on his finger, approved the offer.
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€20,000 for what ended up a minor scar on his finger! no wonder insurance premiums are so costly here with the amounts awarded by judges. My own 5 had plenty falls etc when they were young and have the “scars” to prove it but do you know what we just got on with life, that’s part and parcel of growing up.
I got through my entire chikdhood without a single scar or broken bone. Maybe my parents and teachers were just more competent than most.
@ Neal such a great quiet little boy you must have been!! there is 8 years of a gap between my eldest and youngest and like all kids they did the usual rough and tumble stuff that kids should do, needless to say there were bits of accidents but do you know something? they had a great childhood and nothing major happened to any of them but they were allowed do the things that kids should be doing.
Neal, I don’t think you did childhood right! I had plenty of knocks in my childhood and none of them were because of parental negligence – if children are outside and doing normal kid stuff there will be a few knocks.
I tripped and broke my arm in national school in 1988. They rang the oul lady and she brought me to hospital. Sorted…..
Neal
What a very stupid comment.
Yeah Neal bet your excitement was indoor stamp collecting!
Spent most of my childhood in casts and bandages. Arm broke 3 times, chipped elbow, collar bone, broken teeth. All at school. Every time I got a b@ll0cking from my parents, not a personal injury claim form.
Conall, maybe your parents should have been a bit more concerned that your school was an unsafe environment
Don’t have a go at stamp collecting Gus. I took that up when I was 10 and had to quit after a month because of the amount of horrific paper cuts I got on the razor sharp stamp edges. Now that I think about it, I probably could’ve sued An Post for thousands.
I was a kid and a messer, its how you learn and grow. Obviously I was a slow learner! The school was safe, I brought most of it on myself
Gus , I doubt that … he could’ve got a paper cut while licking the stamps ..
BWHAHAHA!!!
Neal’s gone for nap time
Don’t understand why he gets €20,000 for getting his finger stuck in a door hinge. Ridiculous.
Because his finger got crushed.
Neal please read the last sentence of the above report.
I’d be telling my kid to do that for a chance at €20K
If this happened in his own house – who would his parents sue? Court should be reserved for genuine negligence and injury, not for a very minor incident that is a fairly common occurrence.
What’s the solution to this problem now ? Take the doors away so a child can’t catch their fingers in it ? .. accidents will always happen and it’s unfortunate that it happened but it shouldn’t always lead to compensation ..
Rosie
That’s good parenting. The kid had an operation under general anaesthetic as a result and you are suggesting that you will tell your kids to do the same. Maybe someone should send child services your direction!
Because it’s punitive, the crèche expect to have little kids onsite and should design the building to be safe.
Look at the door in MacDonalds toilets they have rubber over the hinges and openings to prevent this.
The crèche should have these but decided that they would save 500 or what ever euro they cost. The judge imposed a high cost so I future crèches will spend a little extra to provide a safe environment
I’d say there’s more harm feeding your kids McDonalds than the little scar from a hinge.
The judge didn’t impose any cost. The crèche settled which means they offered to pay €20,000 and the judge agreed that it was enough, he might have accepted half that amount or a quarter but that was what they offered.
@Neal – nonsense. Crushed, momentarily. He didn’t lose the thing.
When I was small I had the sliding door on a VW van closed on my hand……….that surely would have got me millions……..
The last line tells us all. He had a full recovery with a small scar. Yet the judge is happy to proffer our money at his largesse.
Ridiculous.
John, firstly it’s not our money, it is the crèche which is paying not the state. Secondly, the crèche admitted the child’s injury was their fault and offered the money as compensation. The judge doesn’t get to say how much that should be he only gets to decide if it is enough to compensate not if it is too much.
Rosie Murphy, you are really hot…!!!
Murphy :D
Au guys would you ever give over!! Caught my finger in the door when I was three.. Amputated the top, general anaesthesia and had it re-attached…result… Crooked finger… You do not know my peril with fake nails :( Should I now sue my mother for €20K for negligence? Nope I remember having a great time in hospital!! Loved all the attention.. I’d do it again :)
This is wrong !
Money for everyone. The barrister, the courts and the people who run crèches suffer. It’s just wrong ! Destroys any good will between the crèche and the parents. Bad for the kids in the long run.
Im with you all the way except for “the barrister” suffers. The reason for high premiums and outlandish awards in this country is legal costs. The IMF wanted it to be one of the first things tackled which would help the cost of goods are services come to a level similar to the rest of Europe. High solicitor/barrister fees means higher awards to offset it.
My cousin got a pay out of €75,000 a few years ago, €48,000 of which was hoovered up as ‘legal costs’
Unless you meant: “Money for everyone…The barrister and the courts, while the people who suffer are the ones running creches”
This is so wrong !
Fixed that for you, disgraceful settlement Enda.
The judge should have given the finger to the parents.
Mr Nolan, who appeared with Peter Morissey & Co solicitors, said the creche had admitted liability and had made a settlement offer of €20,000 damages which he recommended to the court.
The judge did nothing in this case. The offer was made by the creche.
Still ridiculous though. That kid got €20,000 for an injury. That injury should have taught the child not to put fingers in doors. Instead, he was taught that doing stupid things is profitable. He might not understand that yet but some day he will.
The judge did Reuben, it’s still on the judge to deem the offer acceptable which they did in this case.
That, folks is why our premiums have doubled and why the current generation will need therapy every time they don’t win a medal in a race, get straight A’s in exams and as adults will be as needy as babies.
Some people just need a slap. Not $20,000.
That’s 2 stories in the last hour alone detailing payouts totalling almost double my annual wages before tax. Best part of anyway. Us workers are suckers by the look of it.
Ohh ffs.I wish I didn’t get thrown out of creche. I’d have put in some serious claims.
I put my hand on our aga as a kid and got a mild burn scar on my hand, it’s now practically unnoticeable as an adult, can I sue my parents?
Greedy parents, greedy reward
Got stung by nettles in my neighbours garden. No permanent marks though but I now have a dislike of nettles. Can I sue my neighbour?
.
Happened to me in school when I was 6 with a school gate. Lost my finger nail and finger swelled up. I didn’t even get a half day but hey it’s part childhood learning to not to stick fingers in places
I’ve over 50 stitches from various accidents over the years some of while are visible and mildly unsightly. I’m gonna sue everyone.
In this and the article about the child who was awarded €18,000 why use the word ‘lacerate’. Accuracy should be more important than sensationalism.
Because that describes the injury he got to his finger.
Kids have accidents. It’s part of being a kid. Falling, tripping, getting fingers trapped in doors. I split my head open while playing in the playground when I was in senior infants. My mam was called and I was picked up and got a cola cool pop. Sorted.
That’s the thing about US style liability culture. It will eventually come back around and they subsequently run the risk of someone slipping, tripping or hurting themselves in their own home and suing them…
The only people that make easy money are the Lionel Hultz type ambulance chasing, no win no fee, shyster lawyers.
Works on retainer? No! money down.
Better Call Saul.
Wow, when I was a child I fell while running around playing like kids do in the school yard. There was a broken bottle and the glass sliced me from my wrist to my elbow. I still have a huge scar today nearly 30 years on. Wonder what i could have got for that?! Thankfully we didn’t live in a compensation happy society then. I learned to watch where I was going and to tie my laces
Did you have a crush injury requiring general anaesthetic?
Why did the creche offer to settle in the first place?
Same reason they always do, the parents probably
sued for 10x and the crèche have liability insurance, the insurance company ultimately decided to settle because they don’t want the risk a big pay out.
Because legal fees, court costs etc would have cost them more.
I fell on a broken milk bottle 50 years ago as a child, which left large scars on my arm, where do I collect my €20,000 please ?
I fell on a broken Lucozade bottle in a GAA pitch (back when Lucozade bottles were made of glass). €500,000 please?
The Crèche would have been advised to settle or risk an even bigger payout by the judge. The judiciary need a serious wake up call, do they not realise that these awards will only encourage compo idiots & put small businesses out of business?
I’ve a scar in my leg….fell over neighbours broken chimney pot when he was building hi house. Didn’t sue I have a scar on my forehead where my friends brother threw a sod of turf at me. Didn’t sue. I have a dog bite scar on my knee. Didn’t sue. I was involved in a car accident in my friends car. Didn’t sue. The sue everybody culture in this country is becoming disgusting. No luck from ill gotten gains.
Jesus if we had this liturgies culture when I was a youngfella Me and most of us around in the seventies and eighties would be a multi millionaires now!!!!!!
Imagine how much an arm and a leg would cost? Daft!
A few falls and scrapes should toughen kids up, hate seeing kids nowadays who are wrapped up in bubble wrap… Parents are to blame.
I want out.
A lot of people seem to misunderstand the circumstances of this payment. The crèche settled the case which means that they accepted that it was their fault and offered money to compensate for the injury. The judge merely accepted that the offer was enough to compensate for the injury.
Madness, be sued for blowing your nose in public the way things are going,
“Alex Orsi, of Merlyn Park, Ballsbridge, Dublin, had been referred to the plastic surgery team at the hospital and had surgery under general anaesthetic the next day.”
There is no such thing as a safe surgery.
Why would you think that it is not a worthwhile award?
Couldn’t the crèche just offer up a member of staff to have their finger squished in a door as a reparation?
Same thing happened to my son in Girraffe. We didn’t sue. It was an accident that could have just as easily happened in my home.
I know where I’m sending my kid to creche. I need a new car.
I’d understand if he was from Cambodia or Vietnam as there’d be a loss of earnings.
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