Donegal hotel settles compensation after wardrobe falls on young child
Judge approves settlement involving Abbey Hotel Company Limited following August 2020 incident
A child was awarded over €3,500 after a wardrobe fell on top of her during a stay at the Abbey Hotel in Donegal Town.
Judge Éiteáin Cunningham said she was satisfied to approve the sum of €3,563 at Donegal District Court, held at Ballyshannon Courthouse during a civil hearing.
The claimant’s mother, who has an address in Meath, was present at the hearing via a video link and was represented by Timothy Morrow BL.
Payments included special damages of €1,063, and an offer of €2,500 made in this case, making a total of €3,563, plus costs by the respondent’s insurers.
On August 9, 2020, the infant claimant was a lawful visitor to the Abbey Hotel, when in a family bathroom of the hotel, the infant claimant opened the doors of the wardrobe in the bathroom, where on the wardrobe, fell on the claimant’s head and leg due to the nuisance, negligence, breach of duty, and the breach of statutory duty of the respondent, its servants and/or agents.
Mr Morrow told Judge Cunningham that the matter had been settled and that the child would have been five years old at the time of the injury.
He said: “The child tried to pull a wardrobe door that should have been fixed to the wall, but it was not.
“The claimant has since made a full recovery after three to four months of the incident.
“Thankfully, the child has made a full recovery. This was a relatively minor incident.”
Judge Cunningham said: “It could have had more serious and consequential incidents.”
Mr Morrow asked the claimant’s mother if she was happy with the reward that had been negotiated.
The claimant’s mother replied: “I suppose. My main concern was that the wardrobe should have been attached to the wall.
“It could have been so much worse. A chair took on half of the blow.”
Mr Morrow told the court that the incident happened during COVID and that it had been very hard to find a doctor.
The claimant’s mother said her child had been “very badly bruised”
Mr Morrow asked the claimant’s mother if she was aware that the money would remain until the child is an adult, to which she responded, "Yes."
Judge Cunningham concluded: “I agree with the mum that this could have had more serious consequences. I am satisfied to approve.”