A 23-month-old child, who had not been conceived when his sister was killed in a hit-and-run in Dublin's Phoenix Park, has been awarded €1,500 in "grief money" at the Circuit Civil Court.
Marcel Siatka was born on May 24th, 2016, one year and 47 days after his sister Vanessa died in what a trial judge then called the worst case of dangerous driving he had ever heard of.
Conor Kearney, barrister for Marcel and Vanessa's father Lukasz Siatka, told Judge Terence O'Sullivan that the Injuries Board had assessed damages of €42,777 to be divided between Vanessa's surviving family and to include the cost of her funeral.
Mr Kearney said the board had not, in its assessment, considered compensation for Marcel as he had not been born at the time of Vanessa’s death.
Judge O’Sullivan heard that, under the provisions of the Civil Liability Act, Mr Siatka, of Brandon Square, Waterville, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, had taken a claim on behalf of members of his family, including Marcel.
Mr Kearney said the funeral, including a headstone, had cost €7,240 and the solatium, more commonly known as tear money, had been assessed at €14,500 each for Vanessa’s parents with €2,000 each for three grandparents. There were other expenses.
He said it was for the court to approve the assessment and the parents had stated they had no difficulty for compensation, as decided by the court, being shared with Marcel.
Grief
Judge O’Sullivan said it was not a particularly nice exercise to have to divide money between members of the family, but he felt it would be appropriate to mark the fact that Marcel would undoubtedly make inquiries in the future about his sister and would experience grief for her loss.
He said the €2,000 allocated to each grandparent should be reduced to €1,500 so as to allow for Marcel to also receive €1,500. He directed that Marcel’s money be paid into court for his future benefit.
Ciaran Lane pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing Vanessa's death and was jailed for seven years, with the final two years suspended, in April 2016 by Judge Patrick McCartan.
The accident happened on Easter Sunday, 2015 at a roundabout. Vanessa, who was 23 months old, had been standing next to her mother Katarzyna’s parked car, when Lane’s Toyota Corolla hit the child at high speed, dragging her for a distance. The court heard he drove off at speed but later presented at Cabra Garda station. Lane had consumed a litre of vodka and two grams of cocaine before taking to the road in his car with two friends that day.
In hit and run cases accident victims are eligible for compensation through a special fund set up under the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 called the “Solatium Fund”. A portion of the Gross Written Premium is contributed towards the fund every year by both public and private insurers.