The High Court in Galway awarded Colene Killian €121,917.90 after she was bitten by a dog at the home of Martin and Amy Kilduff in February 2016. Mr Justice O’Connor delivered judgment on 30 April 2021.
The judgment recounts that Ms Killian, then 21, was at the house of her then best friend shortly after midnight on 14 February 2016, waiting for her father to collect her. The friend’s boyfriend, referred to in the judgment as “Ollie”, was in the house with a large pit bull terrier. The dog entered the bedroom, nipped Ms Killian and then latched onto her arm when she tried to leave. The judgment says it held her arm for about a minute before Ollie pulled it away.
According to the judgment, Ms Killian was taken to a sports field before being brought to hospital, and the triage nurse was initially told that a stray dog had caused the wound. She corrected that account while alone during an examination at Tullamore Hospital. The wound was too deep to close at that time. She received intravenous antibiotics and was later transferred to St James’s Hospital, where she underwent two procedures under general anaesthetic and stayed for six days.
The court described the lasting scar and the effect on Ms Killian’s confidence and clothing choices. It also considered her evidence about reduced confidence using her left arm, anxiety around dogs, and psychological effects including post-traumatic stress disorder. The judgment noted that a consultant had measured her left-hand strength as equal to her right, and that there was no evidence the attack had actually impaired her career opportunities.
The court said three further reconstructive procedures could improve the scar but would not remove it. It also referred to recommended cognitive behavioural therapy and the prospect that phobic anxiety about some dogs would persist.
Mr Justice O’Connor awarded €65,000 in general damages for the physical and psychological effects up to April 2021, and €45,000 for future effects. With €11,917.90 in agreed special damages, the total award was €121,917.90. The judgment does not set out a separate liability analysis or specify the precise terms of any order beyond the damages award.