Personal Injury: Are we turning into the US

S

Sunny

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This is ridiculous. Do people now claim for every little accident?

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Any wonder insurance is so expensive.
 
€10K! How is that justified? Who was found at fault? Once again the journalism on this story leaves a lot to be desired! What is the process by which awards such as these are arrived at? Plastic surgeon for a cut on the chin that required no stitches - jeez that is just ridiculous! Agreed on the insurance Sunny, but also is it any wonder the HSE is such a shambles if a (no doubt highly paid) plastic surgeon is called to take a look at something as trivial as this! I'm sure a nurse (or gp) would have cleaned the cut and applied said steri strips in under 5 minutes rather than take up valuable time in the hospital.
 

You're going off on a mad tangent there Ted, could the child's family have had private insurance? Slagging the HSE off without any information that can be gathered from the story is unfair.

I hope the parents of this child are named and shamed in the local paper as when the playground and others like it are closed due to insurance costs we'll know who to blame.

There should be an automatic disclaimer upon entering playgrounds that any injuries are not liable for compensation.

The article doesn't even identify who was sued - presumably Roscommon County Council but who knows?
 
It is idiotic parents like this that have lead to situations where children aren't allowed to run in some school playgrounds.
I mean, for God's sake, kids fall all the time and cut and bruise themselves. Its part of a normal childhood.
 
On the basis of that award I should be a multi-millionaire.

Where did my parents go wrong?
 
dereko1969 said:
You're going off on a mad tangent there Ted, could the child's family have had private insurance? Slagging the HSE off without any information that can be gathered from the story is unfair.
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Actually yes you're right derek - on re-reading the article it sounds like the family had this plastic consultant inspect the injury as part of the court case so yes seems I was off on a wrong tangent there! Ah well, I did say the journalism was poor!
 
With the amount of falls and buckled wheels I've gotten from potholes and loose drain covers over the years, my parents could have gotten me a tidy sum. Or at least enough for a shiny new rothar.

Instead they told me it was my own fault and why didn't I look where I was going


dereko1969 said:
There should be an automatic disclaimer upon entering playgrounds that any injuries are not liable for compensation.
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From what I'm told, they're pretty worthless.
 
micmclo said:
Instead they told me it was my own fault and why didn't I look where I was going
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This is what we were told when we were kids and I do and will keep repeating to my 2 year old. I got a call from his creche a couple of months ago to say that he tripped and fell and that his injury looked a lot worse than it actually was. When I came to pick him up later that day, he had a huge bruised stripe the whole length of his cheek but showed no signs of pain or anything. It healed within a week and it wouldn't even cross my mind to actually claim for it.

I agree that it's parents like those in the article who are robbing our children's childhoods from them by making ridiculous claims and hence restricting children's play by mad and often un-necessary H&S. Although, I do simpathise with the owners of playgrounds who are in a very difficult situation and have no option of using common sense.
 
Its easy money, and as long as rewards are handed out like this, its only going to get worse.
 
My daughter fell and knocked out one of her baby teeth in one of those fun-zone type places at a birthday party.
The manager was there to meet me when I called to collect her (it was a friend’s birthday party). The first thing she said was that she would give me the number of their solicitor. I looked at where she fell and as I couldn’t see anything wrong with their premises I said that I had no intention of suing them. Children fall; that’s what children do.
 
Ceist Beag said:
Plastic surgeon for a cut on the chin that required no stitches - jeez that is just ridiculous!
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When my daughter had a bad fall onto a radiator in our house and split (what looked to me like) her whole face open, I brought her to Temple Street A&E. The policy there is that any child with a facial laceration is seen by a plastic surgeon consultant (in A&E) to assess the damage. I nearly lost my life when they told me the plastic surgeon was on his way, but now I'm glad that she was seen by a specialist in this area. When your child's face is covered in blood, believe me, it is very reassuring to see someone whose speciality is minimising children's scars!
 
The information in the article is minimal to say the least and I can't track down anything more detailed.

Just be interesting exactly why they sued and a few more details like defence etc.
 
liaconn said:
It is idiotic parents like this that have lead to situations where children aren't allowed to run in some school playgrounds.
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I've long come to accept that a lot of people are idiots. I blame the judge for awarding a silly amount of compensation. Genuine claimants do a service to the public however, as otherwise many public/work places would be dangerous (although dangerous mostly to idiots).
 
There should be an automatic disclaimer upon entering playgrounds that any injuries are not liable for compensation.
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Disclaimers are worthless. They only serve to put some people off claiming.
A person or company cannot disclaim liability for personal injuries caused by their negligence.

Also I doubt they saw a plastic surgeon at the hospital. The PS was probably instructed by the solicitors to prepare a report.
 
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