Emergency surgery to replace the tip of a child's right middle finger, cut off when a steel door closed on it, was unsuccessful, Dublin Circuit Civil Court heard yesterday.
Mr Rory MacCabe, for seven-year-old Shauna Casey, told the court the fingertip was placed in ice and she was rushed to hospital for treatment following the accident three years ago.
A composite graft had been performed but the re-implanted part had not been viable and fell off two months later.
Mr MacCabe told the court the injury had created a severe cosmetic deformity for Shauna, and recent medical reports suggested she could have functional problems which could limit her job opportunities in the future.
The Circuit Court president, Mr Justice Smyth, who approved a settlement offer of £30,000 from Rialto Development Association Ltd, heard that Shauna, of Dolphin House, Rialto, Dublin, was with her mother in St Andrew's Community Hall, South Circular Road, Dublin, in January 1996 when the accident occurred with the steel-faced front door.