A young boy whose little finger was amputated down to the first knuckle after he slipped and fell on an ice rink and another skater ran over his hand has settled his High Court action for an “all in figure” of €32,500.
The High Court on Monday assessed total legal costs at €8,445 in the case, leaving over €24,000 for the boy who is now 16 years of age.
The original application to the court had proposed a breakdown of €20,000 damages for the boy with legal costs amounting to €12,500, but Mr Justice Garrett Simons had adjourned the matter to allow the child’s solicitor to put in material to assist the court in assessing what the appropriate amount for legal costs should be.
The boy, who was eight years old at the time of the accident in 2013 lost the top of his little finger to the first knuckle on his left hand in the accident at a Donegal ice rink. His little finger on the left hand is now 17 mms shorter than the right-hand little finger.
Mr Justice Garrett Simons ordered that the boy not be identified and said he was involved in a traumatic accident and sustained a permanent disfigurement to his left hand.
The judge had adjourned the ruling of the case where a settlement had been reached between the boy’s father who had sued the operators of the ice rink at the time, R&A Leisure Ltd in Newtowncunningham, Co Donegal.
In a judgement on Monday, Mr Justice Simons said a number of offers were made by solicitors representing the defendant to settle the case with the first being an “all in figure” broken down as €7,500 in damages and €7,500 in legal costs. The judge said that the application before him to approve that settlement was refused on the basis that the sum of damages did not reflect a reasonable settlement.
Further negotiations ensued, the judge said, and two improved offers were made with the latest offer amounting to an all-in figure of €32,500 with damages assessed as €20,000 and legal costs amounting to €12,500.
Unusual
Mr Justice Simons said the court expressed concern that the amount proposed for legal costs appeared high relative to the level of damages. The judge said the proposed terms of settlement in the case are unusual in that it was not envisaged by the parties there would be any formal adjudication of costs.
“Instead it is suggested that more than a third of the money to be paid in respect of the minor plaintiff’s personal injuries claim is to be paid in respect of costs. The court in the discharge of its obligation to protect the interests of the minor must consider where the amount suggested to be paid in respect of costs is reasonable.”
Mr Justice Simons said there was a real likelihood the claim would be dismissed if it went to trial.
The potential monetary value of the claim at its very height the judge said would have been €35,000 to €45,000 and it should therefore have been brought in the Circuit Court.
Mr Justice Simons said the reasonable amount recoverable in respect of counsel is €2,480 plus VAT.
Referring to the solicitor’s professional fees, the judge said the statement of account had put them at €4,600 plus VAT but a legal costs accountant had advised €9,500. No attempt, the judge said, had been made by the legal costs accountant to explain how this figure was calculated.
The judge said he concluded that the reasonable amount in respect of solicitor’s fees would be €2,500 plus VAT and he said it reflected the reality that the burden of work in the case had been shared with counsel. The rest of the legal costs bill included expert professional fees, drafting documentation, and other items.
The judge also noted the paperwork generated by the case including expert reports and pleadings was minimal and ran to less than eighty pages.
The €24,054 damages will be kept in court until the boy is 18 years old.