An eight-year-old girl from the United States who suffered second-degree burns when hot chocolate spilled onto her lap while on a Ryanair flight has settled her High Court action for €150,000.

Sriya Venkata Neti was on a Rome to Krakow flight when she took a sip of the hot chocolate but the paper cup fell on top of her when she recoiled from the hot liquid.

Her lawyers told the High Court she had suffered significant burns.

A medical report said the hot liquid pooled on the seat causing extreme burning pain and the child's mother had to unbuckle her from the seat and her clothing had to be removed.

The mother reported her daughter's skin was gone where the liquid had hit, blisters were forming in other areas and the child was crying.

She was airlifted to hospital in Krakow on landing and later transferred to Toronto, Canada, where she spent eight days being treated as an outpatient before returning home to California.

The now 11-year-old, who lives in Freemont, California, had through her father Srinivas Neti sued Ryanair over the accident on 25 June 2016.

She had claimed she had been served a hot chocolate at such a high temperatures that the liquid caused severe scalding and burns to her. She claimed there was an alleged failure to provide a safe method of service of hot beverages in particular hot chocolate suitable for minors.

It was further claimed there was an alleged failure to warn the little girl of the known danger from the temperatures at the which the chocolate was served. It was also alleged there was a failure to provide any adequate assistance to the child and her family after the spillage and that after a time it was allegedly requested the little girl be moved to a toilet for treatment so as not to disturb other passengers. 

The family alleged the failure of cabin crew to provide assistance or adequate means of cooling the burns had worsened the injuries. 

The airline denied all the claims.

Senior counsel Hugh Mohan told the court it was a slightly unusual case in that under the Warsaw Convention, if a passenger on an international flight can show that bodily injuries were caused by an accident, an unexpected or unusual event that is external to the passenger, then the passenger need not show negligence or fault as against the airline.

The young girl suffered burns to her thighs and buttocks and has been left with scarring, the court heard.

In a sworn statement her father, Srinivas Neti, said the scarring has now substantially improved and whereas the injuries sustained were extremely serious, his daughter has made a good recovery and the condition of her injuries has improved considerably.

Approving the settlement Mr Justice Kevin Cross said that when Sriya was scalded it must have been extremely painful. The young girl has also been left with scarring but the court heard she has made a good recovery.

He also took into account that the family now wanted to get on with their lives and to put the incident behind them.