Child awarded €19,000 for ‘psychiatric injuries’ due to seeing mother bleeding

A 15-months-old child, said to have been psychologically injured when she saw her mother bleed profusely after walking into and shattering a pane of glass, was Tuesday offered a €19,000 settlement on behalf of Terenure College Rugby Club and Panda Play Café Limited.

When the Circuit Civil Court was told that the child's mother thought the settlement should be closer to €60,000, judge Kathryn Hutton told her the duty of the court was to protect the interests of the child and approved the €19,000 settlement.

The judge heard Jillian Johnson, of Station Road, Kesh, Co Fermanagh, had accidentally walked into a pane of glass in the rugby club at Lakelands, Greenlea Grove, Terenure, Dublin, and had been seen covered in blood by her two 15-months-old children Willow and Jude Johnson-Rice, both of whom had suffered psychological and psychiatric injuries.

Barrister Keith O’Grady, counsel for Willow who is now aged six, told the court Ms Johnson had, since the December 2014 accident, accepted a settlement of €36,725 for her own personal injuries.

In February last year the court had approved a €20,000 settlement for her son, Jude.

Mr O'Grady, who appeared with Murphy Ballantyne Solicitors, Sligo, said he was recommending the court approve a settlement offer for Willow of €22,000, to include expenses of €2,762 paid by the girl's grandfather, Brian Johnson, in whose name the application had been brought.

Mr Johnson, a retired civil servant, of Alderwood Park, Salloon, Ballinamallard, Co Fermanagh, told the court he was not happy with the offer.

Mr O’Grady said Ms Johnson had made it firmly clear in a letter to the court that she was unhappy with the offer and estimated the value of the injuries to her daughter at between €50,000 and €60,000 which is the full jurisdiction of the court.

Counsel said that in the generous offers to Ms Johnson and her son, Jude, the defendants had not particularly raised any issue of liability but had specifically raised liability in the offer made to Willow.

He feared Willow’s claim might not succeed if it went to a full trial.The judge was told Willow had become very clingy and nervous after having seen her mother covered in blood. She had screamed at the time and had to be controlled by four adults and afterwards awoke in the middle of the night screaming.

Approving the €22,000 offer and directing the payment out of €2,762 expenses to Mr Johnson, Judge Hutton said there was a serious risk that Willow would not recover anything if the offer before the court was not approved.

“The court’s duty in such cases is to protect the interests of the infant and in my view it is a very generous offer under the circumstances,” the judge said.