A judge has approved a €26,000 personal injuries settlement for an eight-year-old schoolgirl whose left ring finger was crushed when a fire escape door was accidentally closed on it.
Fran Rooney, counsel for Zarabelle O'Neill McAllorum, told the Circuit Civil Court that the girl was only six when the accident happened at her school, Gaelscoil Inse Choir, Islandbridge, Dublin, just over two years ago.
Mr Rooney, who appeared with B&P Byrne Solicitors, told Judge John O'Connor that Zarabelle, through her mother Fiona O'Neill, had sued the school and the Department of Education and Skills on the grounds of negligence.
He said the door had been closed by another student on Zarabelle's finger and she had been taken to Our Lady's Childrens Hospital, Crumlin.
In June 2019, seven months after the incident, doctors considered she had not made sufficient progress in her recovery and she had her finger nail removed under general anaesthetic.
Mr Rooney said Zarabelle, from Kilmainham in Dublin, shortly afterwards developed a viral infection and had to be treated with a course of antibiotics. She had since fully recovered.
Judge O'Connor, who heard that the girl's legal team had rejected initial settlement terms of €20,000, approved an increased offer on behalf of both defendants of €26,000 and congratulated Mr Rooney on the significant improvement of compensation for Zarabelle.
