Andrew Carey
A LIMERICK creche has paid out €12,500 to an eight-year old girl who suffered a broken arm despite the childcare facility claiming that the accident did not occur on their premises, a court has heard.
A sitting of Limerick Civil Circuit Court, Judge Tom O’Donnell was told that the girl, who was three at the time, was dropped off to the Pebbled Pathways creche shortly before 9am on March 16, 2009 by her mother.
The child’s mother, who was pregnant at the time, said that her daughter was in “fine form going in” to the childcare facility.
However, counsel for the family said that when her mother collected her shortly before 6pm that day, the child complained of pain in her arm.
She was taken to hospital where it was discovered that she had suffered a double fracture of the forearm.
Doctors placed her arm in a cast from her knuckles to below her shoulder for six weeks.
She returned to the creche, but the court heard that the girl’s mother sought to review the CCTV footage of the day her daughter was said to have suffered the injury.
For security reasons, the eight hours of CCTV footage could not be removed from the premises and the mother was invited to view it on site but couldn’t, because of difficulties with her pregnancy.
The matter was pursued through a solicitor and two years later when legal representatives sought to obtain the CCTV footage it was no longer available and the matter did not proceed any further the court heard.
However, the court was told that the family acquired the services of a new legal team and the matter was brought before a civil hearing of Limerick Circuit Court.
In a defence filed, the creche denied any accident happened on their premises.
Counsel for the family said that the girl only returned to the creche for two months until her mother could make alternative arrangements for childcare.
However, on the day that the case was listed for hearing, Pebbled Pathways instructed their legal team to make an offer of compensation plus to cover the costs of the family’s court action.
After hearing that the young girl made a full and satisfactory recovery, Judge O’Donnell said that the offer from the creche was appropriate and approved the payment of €12,500 which he said was to be made payable as soon as possible and invested suitably.
