Boy injured by exploding lightbulb awarded damages of €27,000

A 10-year-old boy whose face was injured when a light bulb in his bedside lamp exploded has been awarded €27,000 damages for personal injuries.

Barrister Daniel Coyle told the Circuit Civil Court that Joseph Carney was six years old when he suffered cuts to his left lower eyelid and cheek.

Mr Coyle, who appeared with James H Murphy Solicitors for Joseph, told Judge Cormac Quinn that two stores, Dealz and Ikea, had offered the boy the €27,000 settlement and he was recommending it to the court.

Counsel said Joseph, who sued both stores through his mother Clodagh Carney, of Bailes, Dunleer, Co Louth, had been in bed on December 12th, 2016 when the bulb in his bedside lamp exploded.

Mr Coyle told the court that Ms Carney had found her son covered in glass in his bed and with blood trickling down his cheek. She had taken him to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda from where he had been transferred to Temple Street Childrens’ Hospital where his wounds had been treated.

Judge Quinn, who heard that Joseph had suffered a small puncture wound to his left lower eyelid and a burn abrasion to his cheek, approved the settlement offer.

Mr Coyle said the bedside lamp had been bought in Ikea and the bulb had been purchased in a local Dealz store. The settlement had been reached in negotiations with both firms.