SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGES have been paid to the parents of a nine-year-old boy who died from burn injuries sustained during an accident on a building site in Co Cork seven years ago.
Stephen Long was playing with friends on a building site in Mount Oval village belonging to O'Flynn Construction, Clarke's Hill, Rochestown, on September 9th 2001 when the accident occurred.
He suffered severe burns when a barrel of wood preservative exploded. He died later in hospital.
A civil action taken by Stephen's parents, Seán and Geraldine Long, against O'Flynn Construction was settled yesterday at the High Court in Cork. Separate personal injuries cases had been taken against the construction company by Mr and Mrs Long and a fatal injuries case was incorporated into Mrs Long's case.
Senior counsel for the Long family, Dr John O'Mahony, said that substantial sums had been paid to Mr and Mrs Long by the defendant in respect of their personal injury cases, which were dismissed. In respect of the fatal injuries claim, a further €106,000 was to be paid to the family.
Dr O'Mahony told the court yesterday that this case had arisen out of the most tragic and catastrophic accident. The boy and some of his young friends had been playing on the building site, to which they had ready access, when a barrel containing a highly-inflammable material caught fire, creating a massive explosion and fireball.
"Stephen, who was nearby, caught fire and was trapped in the explosion and fire. Unfortunately, he was literally burnt alive. In my career at the bar I have not seen a worse burns case and I have seen some very bad ones. Stephen was taken to Cork University Hospital with 90 per cent deep burns at 5.15 on the Sunday evening on which the accident occurred and he died at 7am the following morning," he explained.
Mrs Long broke down and sobbed as Dr O'Mahony recounted how her son had become "a running fireball" after his clothes caught fire.
Mr Justice Michael Hanna said this was one of the most tragic cases he had ever come across.
The Long family had moved from the area after the accident, Dr O'Mahony said. Stephen's sister, Aisling (18), and brother, Ian (14), were compensated earlier this year for nervous shock.
Mr Justice Hanna approved the settlement to Mr and Mrs Long yesterday and expressed his sympathy to them. He acknowledged that the law was "an inadequate instrument" in dealing with such cases, but it had gone as far as it could in helping them.
Speaking after yesterday's settlement, solicitor for the Long family Dan Murphy said: "The Long family are satisfied with the manner in which the courts have dealt with this case, bearing in mind the comments of Justice Hanna that the legal system is totally inadequate in dealing with tragedies of this nature. They would like to thank all those people who stood and supported the family and now ask for their privacy to be respected."