A CHILD who received severe burns when her coat caught fire in the sitting room of her maternal grandfather's home has been awarded £152,095 in damages in her High Court action against him.
Amy Duffy, now aged eight and suing by her father, Mr Bernard Duffy, of Culloville, Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, brought the action against the grandfather, Mr Patrick Rooney, of Turners Hill, Kingscourt, Co Cavan; and Dunnes Stores Ltd.
Miss Justice Laffoy said she believed the company was in breach of its duty of care in failing to affix a warning label to the coat. However, the injuries the child suffered were entirely attributable to default on the part of Mr Rooney.
The accident happened on February 9th, 1992, when Amy was two years and 10 months. Miss Justice Laffoy said the child came into the hall of the house with her mother, Ms Patricia Duffy. The mother put Amy's coat on her in preparation for a walk with her grandfather. Ms Duffy then went into the kitchen in the belief that Amy was going out immediately with her grandfather.
Mr Rooney walked from the hall to the sitting room to put on his coat. As he was doing so, he was looking out the front window. When he had his coat on, he turned around and saw Amy coming towards him.
As he described it, she was about one or two feet away from the fireplace and her coat was burning. She was unaware of this. Mr Rooney caught her and kept her head away from the flame. He shouted for Ms Duffy, who came instantly. She managed to remove the coat and also to remove the child's trousers which had also caught fire. Despite the swift action, the child suffered severe burns in the thigh area.
The coat she had been wearing had been purchased by her grandmother, Ms Rooney, in Dunnes Stores in Drogheda. The trousers and sweatshirt she was wearing under the coat had also been purchased from Dunnes. The trousers and sweatshirt had warning labels stating: Keep away from fire."
Miss Justice Laffoy said the only reasonable inference was that when the child was passing the open fire, the coat came in contact with it and ignited.
However, she said the most telling fact which emerged was that the girl was wearing trousers and a sweatshirt to which warning labels were attached and their existence did not deter Ms Duffy from purchasing the garments.