The High Court awarded a 16-year-old girl €318,275 in damages for injuries and permanent scarring caused when a car struck her on a footpath in Carcur, Wexford.
The judgment of Mr Justice Brian McGovern, delivered on 24 July 2007, concerned the assessment of damages only. The source does not state how liability was established or describe any decision on liability in this hearing.
The girl was 13 when the accident happened on 1 August 2004. She was pinned under the car, which the judgment says was driven by the first defendant and owned by the second. She suffered severe abdominal and leg wounds, liver lacerations, and injuries to her arm, fingers and face. A full-thickness burn on her left leg required skin grafts, leaving permanent scars at both the injury and donor sites.
The judge described extensive scarring across her body, including a deep indentation in her shin. Plastic surgeons considered the scars permanent and said laser treatment might bring only minimal improvement, with no assurance of benefit. The leg injury left her vulnerable to future skin breakdown and ulceration if she struck it, and she could no longer take part in contact sports. The judgment also records that she retained full mobility.
Giving evidence, the girl described being upset about her body image and avoiding swimming and the beach. The judge heard that the scarring restricted her clothing choices and affected her social life. A psychologist’s report said the trauma could be reawakened by ordinary stresses, although counselling had helped and the girl had made considerable progress.
The judge balanced the permanent and extensive disfigurement and its expected lifelong effects against the absence of significant mobility problems and the limited visibility of the facial scars. He awarded €150,000 for pain and suffering to date and €150,000 for future pain and suffering. Special damages had been agreed at €18,275, which the judge also awarded, making the total €318,275.