Child Injury Compensation

The family of a young boy, who was paralysed in an attack by a known bully at his school, have resolved their claim for school bullying injury in an out-of-court settlement worth 4.2 million dollars.

Sawyer Rosenstein (18) of Woodland Park, New Jersey, was a student at the Eric Smith Middle School in Ramsay, New Jersey, and only twelve years of age in May 2006 when a fellow student – known to have a history of violent tendencies – punched him in the abdomen. The attack caused a blood clot to form which prevented blood from reaching Sawyer´s spine and permanently paralysed the young student from the waist down.

In the claim for school bullying injury brought by Sawyer´s parents, it was claimed that school officials were aware of the bully´s violent nature, yet had failed to record any of his misdemeanours or discipline the boy for any of his previous attacks. This failure in the school´s duty of care, they claimed, was in breach of New Jersey´s anti-bullying legislation which had been put in place to prevent this sort of incident occurring.

Sawyer´s parents supported their claim for school bullying injury by providing an email that Sawyer had written to his school guidance counsellor three months prior to the attack. In the email Sawyer had alerted his guidance counsellor to the fact that he was being bullied at school and asked for advice about how to cope with the attacks. He concluded the email “I would just like to put this on file so if something happens again, we can show that there was past bullying situations.”

After several months of negotiations, Ramsay School District agreed to a 4.2 million dollars settlement of Sawyer´s claim for school bullying injury without admission of liability. Sawyer is now a freshman at Syracuse University when he is majoring in communications.

A teenage girl is to receive 700,000 Euros after the High Court in Dublin approved an offer of compensation for Erbs Palsy injury made by the consultant obstetrician from the hospital at which she was born.

Aoife James (14) from Douglas, Cork, has suffered the shoulder injury in her right side since she was born at the Cork Clinic, Cork, in 1998 and despite two operations to relocate her shoulder and years of physiotherapy Aoife is still unable to complete simple tasks such as washing herself or drying her hair.

Through her mother, Carol, Aoife claimed birth injury compensation against Patrick Kieran – the consultant obstetrician present at her birth – alleging that her right upper limb was severely functionally compromised due to negligence when she was born, and that her quality of life had suffered as a result.

Although the claim was denied, Ms Justice Mary Irvine at the High Court in Dublin heard that an offer of compensation for Erbs Palsy injury had been made without admission of liability and that the family was prepared to accept it. Approving the compensation settlement, Ms Justice Mary Irvine ordered that it be paid into court funds until Aoife turns eighteen.

A jury in Georgia has awarded 1.78 million dollars in compensation for being injured by drunk driver to the victims of an accident caused by a college student who had been on a weekend drinking binge with his fraternity friends.

Jury members at the Superior Court of Rabun County heard that Stanley Bryant (20) of Mountain City, Georgia, had been returning from a three-day drinking binge with college friends at Lake Rabun in July 2010, when he drove his father´s BMW into the back of a minivan containing the Gonzalez family who were on their way home after attending church.

The force with which Bryant hit the Gonzalez´ minivan forced it across the carriageway and into the path of oncoming traffic. The minivan was immediately in a head-on collision with a vehicle driven by Irma Jo Gregory. Five members of the Gonzalez family and Ms Gregory were rushed to hospital – with the child who was seated at the back of the minivan sustaining a broken fibula and tibia on both legs.

Bryant was found to have a .22 blood alcohol content and was immediately arrested. The Gonzalez family and Ms Gregory made drunk driving accident compensation claim against the under-aged student and, after a three day hearing, the jury announced an award of 1.78 million dollars in compensation for being injured by drunk driver.

Authorities in Finland have started making payments of Pandemrix compensation to victims who developed narcolepsy during swine flu vaccination programs in 2009 and 2010.

A fund of 30 million Euros has been set up to pay for medical care for 94 people so far identified as contracting the sleeping disorder, following research by Finland´s Institute for Health and Welfare which indicated that that children given the drug Pandemrix were nine times more at risk of developing narcolepsy than those who were not administered the swine flu vaccine.

Narcolepsy is a life-long condition which can be passed genetically to future generations, and Kari Valimaki – the Finnish Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health – has already admitted that the Pandemrix compensation fund may be insufficient to meet future demand as nobody is sure how many personal injury compensation claims for Pandemrix side effects will be made in the future.

The Finnish research has since been supported by the Swedish Medical Products Agency and the European Medicines Agency, although no other countries have yet announced Pandemrix compensation payments to any of the victims diagnosed with narcolepsy or their families.

A twelve year old girl has been awarded 20,000 Euros in Dublin´s Circuit Civil Court as compensation for tripping on pavement and sustaining a permanent scar from her accident.

Kodie Geoghegan Dowdall, from Ballymun in Dublin, was just seven years of age when the accident occurred in December 2006 as she was en route to visiting her aunt who lived close by. Passing by a construction site managed by SIAC Construction of Clondalkin, Dublin, Kodie tripped and fell into a hole dug by the construction company.

Kodie suffered cuts and bruises in the accident, one of which developed into a permanent scar. Through her mother, Kodie brought a tripped on pavement compensation claim against SIAC Construction and, although they denied liability for her injuries, an offer of compensation for tripping on pavement was made without admission of liability.

In the Circuit Civil Court, Mr Justice Matthew Deery heard that the proposed settlement was sufficient to resuture the scar when Kodie turns eighteen years of age and, as all compensation settlements for minors in Ireland have to be endorsed by a judge, Mr Justice Matthew Deery approved the compensation for tripping on pavement agreement.

A schoolboy boxer, who fell over a faulty wire fence and broke his wrist while playing football in a Dublin City Council playground, has had his claim for wrist injury compensation approved in court.

At the Circuit Civil Court in Dublin, Court President Mr Matthew Deery heard how Terence Power (15) from Dublin had been playing football at the St. Marys Place playground when his foot became tangled in some faulty fencing, causing him to fall in the playground and hurt his wrist.

X-rays revealed that Terence has sustained an undisclosed fracture, and the teenager had to spend five weeks wearing a plaster cast on his left arm – a handicap which seriously interfered with his training.

In response to Terence´s claim for wrist injury compensation, Dublin City Council offered a sum of 12,000 Euros plus costs – a figure which Mr Matthew Deery heard Terence and his family were prepared to accept. Mr Deery approved the settlement, which will be held in court until Terence reaches the age of eighteen.

Four children injured in a car accident, when the vehicle driven by their mother was in collision with a Garda patrol car, have been awarded a total of £21,500 in compensation for child passengers in a car accident.

Four children, who were injured in a vehicle collision between their mother´s car and an Irish police patrol vehicle, have had the settlement for their child injury compensation claims approved in the Circuit Civil Court in Dublin.

Circuit Court president, Mr Justice Matthew Deery, heard how Dean McEvoy (15) and his three sisters, Lauren (13), Cody (11) and Megan (10), of Crumlin, Dublin, were passengers in their mother´s car when it was struck by the police vehicle in December 2005.

The judge was told that although the police vehicle was travelling along the Tallaght bypass at speed, neither its warning lights nor siren were on, and it struck Lorraine McEvoy´s car as she was turning right to exit the bypass. Ms McEvoy and all four children sustained soft tissue injuries as a result of the impact.

Liability for the accident had been determined during a High Court action brought on behalf of the children by Ms McEvoy, and the matter was now in front of Mr Justice Matthew Deery for approval of the child injury claims settlements.

The judge approved a total of 26,000 Euros in damages, with Dean receiving 6,500 Euros; Cody awarded 7,500 Euros, and Megan and Lauren each being given 6,000 Euros.

A 6 year old child, who was left with a permanent scar after being hit by a van in the street, has had his child injury compensation claim settled for 17,500 Euros.

Warren Lavelle (6) of Tallaght, Dublin, was just three years of age when he was run over by a van while playing in the street near his home. Warren suffered head injuries as a result of his accident which left him with a permanent scar.

The driver of the van, John Connors – also of Tallaght, Dublin – admitted responsibility for Warren´s injuries and, at Dublin´s Circuit Civil Court, Judge Jacqueline Linnane was told that a 17,500 Euros settlement for Warren´s child injury compensation claim had been agreed.

As is standard practice in the Republic of Ireland, all settlements for child injury compensation have to be approved by a judge before payment of compensation can be paid and, after reviewing the case, Judge Jacqueline Linnane approved the settlement.

A child, whose foot was burned by a nurse attempting to carry out a blood test, was had a burn injury compensation settlement of 10,500 Euros approved in Dublin´s Circuit Civil Court.

Fabien Napierski (4) of Kinlough, County Leitrim, was just four days of age when the accident occurred during a routine medical procedure at his home.

An unnamed nurse, who was preparing to take a blood sample, used hot water from a recently boiled kettle to warm the baby´s foot, burning him in the process.

Circuit Court President, Mr Justice Matthew Deery, heard that although the accident had occurred in 2007, the Health Service Executive had only just made an offer for burn injury compensation of 10,500 Euros.

The settlement, which was made without admission of liability, was approved by the judge, who ordered that the funds be paid into court until Fabien reaches the age of eighteen.