A 17-month-old child, allegedly bitten and clawed by another child in a creche, has been awarded €9,500 damages in the Circuit Civil Court.
Martin Dully, counsel for Octavian Carey, told Judge Jacqueline Linnane yesterday that the child's mother found him to have been bitten on his shoulder and hands and to have claw-like scrapes on his face and neck.
Mr Dully told the court that the Cherished Children Creche at Huntstown Way, Mulhuddart, Co Dublin, had categorically denied responsibility for Octavian's injuries but had offered €9,500 and costs in a settlement without prejudice.
Mary Kelly, Octavian's mother, told the court she was very unhappy she had not received a proper explanation for her child's injuries nor an apology from the creche.
Mr Dully said the incident occurred in July 2000 when Octavian, Whitestown Park, Blanchardstown, Dublin, had been left by his mother at the creche. When she called to collect him, it had been clear from claw-like scratches and bite marks that he had been assaulted in some manner.
Ms Kelly had been dissatisfied with an explanation she had received from Cherished Children and had taken Octavian to Temple Street Children's Hospital. As a result of his experience, Octavian had suffered mood changes.
Mr Dully said the marks on Octavian's body were consistent with having been inflicted by another very young child, but there did not appear to have been any witnesses, and liability on behalf of Cherished Children had been categorically denied.
It would be necessary for Octavian, now aged six, to establish that such was the nature of his injuries they could only have been inflicted in the course of a prolonged assault at a time when there was a lack of supervision.
He said he had some concern that Octavian might not succeed in his claim but, in any case, he felt the €9,500 was a fair and reasonable offer for the court to approve.
Judge Linnane, approving the offer, said she fully understood Ms Kelly's concerns with the explanation given by the creche. It may have eased Ms Kelly's mind somewhat if Cherished Children had adopted a different attitude to the incident, she added.