A judge has refused a €30,000 settlement offered to a nine-year-old schoolgirl who was injured in an accident at an RTÉ creche.
Circuit Court President Mr Justice Raymond Groarke said he feared the figure would not be enough to compensate Ciara Kelly for a permanent scar on her forehead.
Barrister Conor Kearney had told the judge that Ciara was only three in 2008 when she fell over another child and lacerated her forehead on a table in the toddler room of RTÉ Childcare in Donnybrook, Dublin.
The judge heard that Ciara was taken to the Emergency Department of Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Crumlin, Dublin, where the cut was repaired with tissue adhesive.
Mr Kearney told the Circuit Civil Court that the wound had left a visible one and a half centimetre scar on the top right hand side of Ciara’s forehead.
Through her mother Miriam Kelly, of Limekiln Drive, Terenure, Dublin, Ciara sued RTÉ Childcare, which is managed by Wee Care Day Nurseries, for personal injuries based on alleged negligence.
Mr Kearney told Judge Groarke that an allegation that there had been more children than usual in the creche on the day of the accident was being disputed by the creche’s insurance company.
He said if the parties could not agree on a settlement offer the case would go to a full hearing and liability may become an issue.
Judge Groarke said he was not enthusiastic about the €30,000 damages offer and he adjourned the case for a week to facilitate further talks between the parties.