The High Court has dismissed personal injury claims by two women who fractured their ankles while getting off a children’s basket swing in a playground in Newcastle, Co Tipperary.
Mr Justice Twomey found that Tipperary County Council had complied with the relevant British Standard for the swing’s height. He also concluded that the women’s decision to use equipment designed for children, and their failure to take sufficient care when getting off, meant the council had not legally caused their injuries.
Susan O’Mahoney was injured on 30 March 2016 while childminding a boy aged two years and 10 months. She caught her right ankle beneath the swing while getting off and suffered an undisplaced fracture. She wore a cast for six weeks, then a boot for four weeks, and returned to work within two and a half months.
Sarah Kennedy was injured on 13 July 2016 while accompanying her 16-month-old cousin on the swing. She caught her ankle while getting off with the child in her arms and suffered an undisplaced fracture and ligament damage. She wore a cast for four weeks and was out of work for eight weeks.
The women argued that the swing was too low and created an entrapment risk. Their engineer said the required clearance should be measured from the flexible netting at the centre of the swing. The council’s engineer said it should be measured from the rigid rim. The judge accepted the latter interpretation: measured from the rim, the swing met the applicable standard. He said it was unnecessary to decide whether the standard had been breached under the alternative measurement, because he found no causation in any event.
The judgment said a sign at the playground stated it was for children aged 12 and under. The judge found that adults should have known the swing was designed for children, and that each plaintiff had a responsibility to take reasonable care for her own safety. He said the evidence did not show children were at risk using the swing on their own.
The court also considered damages in case its liability conclusion was wrong. Counsel for O’Mahoney had sought about €54,700 for pain and suffering, relying on the non-binding Book of Quantum. The judge said that, on the applicable principles for assessing damages, €5,000 to €7,500 would be fair general damages for her injury. This was an alternative assessment, not an award: both claims were dismissed.
The judgment records that the proceedings were heard together over two days. It also notes that the claims were brought in the High Court, whose personal injury damages jurisdiction was then above €60,000.