Judge abandons case of girl injured while ice skating

A girl who injured her fingers while ice skating has had her case abandoned at the direction of a High Court judge.

Aoibhe Naghten (11) fell while skating at the pop-up rink in Blanchardstown Centre, west Dublin, in December 2015 and another skater ran over her hand.

Ms Naghten’s case will now be put into a list for hearing at a future date.

Mr Justice Michael Hanna said he felt sorry for Ms Naghten who, along with an expert for her side, had given evidence. However, he said he must abandon the case.

The matter arose after the company that set up the pop-up ice rick, where Ms Naghten claims she fell and was injured, sought to introduce a new witness and engineer’s report.

Following an application from Richard Kean SC, for Ms Naghten, that the report not be allowed in at this stage, Mr Justice Hanna decided to abandon the proceedings.

Future date

He directed the case go back in to the list to be heard at a future date and directed both sides to exchange engineer’s reports.

Mr Justice Hanna, who granted costs of the hearing so far to Ms Naghten’s side, said he hated having to abandon the case but he had to, and Ms Naghten could put it down to one of life’s experiences.

Ms Naghten has claimed she injured her hand when she fell and another skater ran over her hand eight metres from the exit to the pop up up ice rink erected at Blanchardstown Centre.

In evidence, she had told Mr Justice Hanna she was skating towards the exit when a man standing at the side barrier turned around and accidentally bumped against her and she fell. While she was on the ground, she said another skater went over her right hand.

Ms Naghten , Summerfield Rise, Blanchardstown, Dublin, through her mother Teresa Crowley sued Cool Running Events Ltd, with offices at Glanmire, Co Cork as a result of the fall at at an ice rink erected by the company.

‘Overcrowded’

It was claimed Cool Running Events allegedly allowed the premises to become overcrowded and non participants were allegedly allowed to interfere with legitimate patrons genuinely participating in the event.

The claims are denied and Cool Running Events contends Ms Naghten was the author of her own misfortune and she took on a voluntary assumption of risk upon entering the ice rink.

In her evidence, Ms Naghten said she went ice skating with her mother and sister Kerri on December 30th, 2015.

She was given first aid at the rink and later got the wound in her right hand stitched in hospital. She had to have a splint for her right middle finger and has been left with a scar.

Asked by counsel for the event company Gerard Clarke SC if she saw a safety video played at the venue, she said she did not remember that.