A seven-year-old boy who was injured when his head was trapped in electric security gates has been awarded more than €50,000 damages in the Circuit Civil Court.
Lee McCabe from Finglas was four years old when gates closed on his head and he had to be rescued by a neighbour who heard him crying for help.
Lee’s barrister Conor Kearney said he suffered serious lacerations to his head and had been left with significant scars above his right eye and on the back of his head.
The accident was caused by faulty sensors, which failed to sense the boy’s presence as the gates closed, Mr Kearney said.
Lee, through his mother, sued Lanesborough CDE & F Management Company Limited with an address at Lanesborough Square Development, Finglas, Dublin.
Mr Kearney said an original assessment by the Personal Injuries Board of €37,133 had been accepted by the boy’s mother but had been rejected by the defendant.
When the case appeared before the court for direction in July last year, Mr Kearney refused to recommend approval of the €37,133 figure and had suggested a figure of €45,000.
Circuit Court President Justice Raymond Groarke, on examining Lee’s scars and considering medical reports, rejected the offer which he felt was very much on the low side.
Mr Kearney said since then the defendants had reconsidered their offer and increased it to €50,000 together with special damages and expenses which brought the proffered settlement up to €52,133.
Judge John Aylmer today approved the new offer with costs against the defendant.
