Boy (5) gets €5,000 after being hit by trolley in Dundrum creche

A five-year-old boy has been awarded €5,000 after he was left with a scar on his head from being hit by a metal trolley in a creche at Dundrum Town Centre.

The child had been in the Ready Steady Play creche in the shopping centre in south Dublin on January 11th 2018 when he suffered "a laceration to the head from a trolley pushed by another child", counsel told Dublin District Court.

Counsel said the child was in the care of the creche at the time.

The boy, who sued Ready Steady Play Ltd through his mother, had been bleeding profusely and the trolley was metal, the court was told.

When his mother arrived she saw a member of staff has holding a cloth to her son’s head. She noticed it was the type of cloth used to clean toilets, counsel said.

A medical report was furnished to the court.

Judge Michael Coghlan noted that boy was seen to at the emergency department in Tallaght Hospital.

His mother had informed counsel that her son had a scar in the middle of his head but it was very difficult to see. He also had a bald patch around it for three months.

The boy had not been able to go to school for two weeks because he had an open wound.

His mother, who was self-employed, had a loss of two weeks’ earnings, some €1,000, and she had paid €100 for admission to the hospital’s accident and emergency department.

Judge Coghlan said while it was traumatic for the boy, he “seems to be in good fettle now”.

He approved the settlement offer of €2,283 expenses and general damages of €5,000. He directed that the money be paid into court funds on behalf of the boy until he reaches full age.