A family walked around their home in a trance for almost a year because of a leak in their newly-installed heating system, a court heard yesterday. Judge Yvonne Murphy was told that James and Eileen Cotter, of Ashgrove, Tallaght, Co Dublin, and their children Amy (18), Catherine (17) and James (6) were "in a daze a lot of the time" until Bord Gais fitters repaired the leak.
Ms Sara Moorehead, counsel for the Cotters, told Judge Murphy in the Circuit Civil Court that the new system had been installed in February 1993 and for 11 months afterwards the whole family experienced problems.
"Extreme condensation caused wallpaper to peel off the walls and in a situation of oppressive heat the children experienced listlessness, headaches, sore throats, drowsiness," Ms Moorehead said.
Mr Cotter told Judge Murphy the family was in a sort of trance and did not know what to do until Bord Gais discovered the leak. They had been leaving their windows open every night to try and alleviate the problem.
"Visitors who wore glasses would immediately `fog up' as soon as they entered our home," Mr Cotter said. "It took us a long time to realise what was causing the problem. It was quite scary. We all had a tough time."
Judge Murphy said the children recovered reasonably quickly after the leak had been repaired but they did have a degree of suffering for almost a year.
She awarded Amy £6,000; Catherine £4,000 and James £3,000. Bord Gais had conceded liability and agreed medical reports in the proceedings.