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High Court Action Settled for €58,000 for Schoolgirl Injured when Bus hit Low Bridge

At the High Court a schoolgirl, who sustained injuries in a school bus accident, has settled her  action for €58,000. Kelly Marie Jackson was injured when a bus she was travelling in crashed with a low bridge when she was on a school trip with her classmates. The accident occurred in Mulhuddart, Dublin on January 29, 2019, . With an address at Briarwood Park, Blanchardstown, Dublin, 15-year-old Kelly Marie took the legal action seeking bus accident compensation via her mother Anne Davis against coach operator Eirebus Ltd in relation to  the accident that occurred at Shanty Bridge, Mulhuddart, Co Dublin. During the hearing presiding Judge Justice Garrett Simons remarked that Kelly Marie had bit through her lip due to the impact involved in the accident. In the aftermath of the road traffic collision the young girl also experienced post-traumatic stress disorder. Thankfully she has ceased to suffer with this condition since that time. Liability was not contested in the legal action. In an affidavit provided to the court, Ms Davis said that her then 14-year-old child was travelling as part of a school trip with her school, Blakestown Community School. She said that the bridge that the bus was attempting to drive under was at too low a height to allow the bus to pass through safely. Due to this when it collided with the bridge, the top of the bus was “cut off and opened backwards like the opening of a tin”. Ms Davis went on to say that her daughter later informed a doctor she was attending that a number of young children on the bus were screaming, just prior to the crash, to warn the driver that it looked like the bus would not fit beneath the bridge. Following the bus crash Kelly Marie called her mother who rushed to the scene of the accident. From here she took her child to the hospital for medical attention. Ms Davies told the court that, as a result of the impact in the crash between the bus and the bridge, her daughter sustained soft tissue injuries in the area of her hip and shoulder. Additionally she had cut through her lip with her teeth when she was knocked forward in the collision. This cut has left Kelly Marie with a small scar to her lip. Justice Simmons, as he was giving his approval to the bus accident compensation settlement, said that Kelly Marie has made a good recovery and that he was of the opinion that the agreed  settlement was a good one.  

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€10,500 Compensation Award for Petrol Station Worker Threatened by Armed Men

€10,500 personal injury compensation has been awarded to a petrol station employee after she was threatened by two men wielding knives during a robbery. The Circuit Civil COurt heard her legal action for compensation against the Circle K Energy Group. Presiding Judge Cormac Quinn was informed that 27-year-old Viktorija Boikovaite was working on her own when the then Topaz filling station and store at Hartstown Road, Clonsilla, Co Dublin, on October 12, 2017 was targeted in an attempted armed robbery. The court was informed that Ms Boikovaite was in the process of clean the till area when she noticed two masked men threatening her with a large knife. one of the thieves, who was also brandishing a knife, went to the tilland had demanded money that she open them so he could remove any money inside. 31-year-old Ms Boikovaite, with an address at Clonee, informed the Judge that she was frozen in shock but was able to activate the panic button when she was opening the tills. This made Gardaí  aware that the outlet was being robbed. It also alerted a number of other members of staff who were in a nearby storeroom. She said that she suffered from trauma due to the assault and attempted robbery. Due to the acute anxiety symptoms she developed she has since moved back to her native country Lithuania. A Wexford-based security expert, Stephen Heffernan, informed Judge Quinn that the fact that Ms Boikovaite being on her own when the robbery occurred, when other staff were in a back office., was contrary to the security policy that stated sales assistants manning tills should never be left on their own. He referred to crime statistics from the one-year period prior to the incident in which Ms Boikovaite was injured. These statistics showed that there had been 112 similar armed robberies in the west Dublin area which included Hartstown and Clonsilla. This, according to him, meant that the garage would be considered as being located in a medium to high risk area. However, it was only in the aftermath of the robbery that a security guard presence and better till security had been implemented. Mr Heffernan told the court: “I believe that had better security measures been in place before the robbery it would have ensured that the risk of robbery was either removed or significantly reduced.” Judge Quinn awarded Ms Boikovaite €10,500 in personal injury compensation.

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Muffin Fall Leads to Shop Injury Claim

An alleged fall on a muffin in a Londis store which led to a woman becoming an invalid has resulted a personal injury compensation claim being submitted in the High Court. The woman who was injured in the accident Ms Olivia Harte Lynch advised the Justice Bernard Barton, through her legal representatives, that she “has been rendered an invalid” since the  accident that occurred on August 23, 2012. She informed the court that during the incident in question her legs gave way from under her and she landed on her back on the floor of a Londis store. She filed the personal injury compensation claim against JNF McGoldrick Ltd trading as McGoldrick’s Londis, Main Street, Dromahair, Co Leitrim due to the injuries she experienced in the accident on August 23, 2012. The court was told that the defence were claiming that there was contributory negligence on Ms Harte Lynch’s behalf. However, Peter Bland SC for the defendant informed the judge that it is accepted that Ms Harte Lynch fell in the Londis store. The claim that was filed to the High Court stated that the muffin was not cleared from the floor of the shop, meaning that it remained in a position of danger for customers and staff. Additionally it is alleged that no one saw to it that the floor was cleaned and an alleged failure to put in place a warning sign or to section off the area until it was completely safe. Londis does not accept all of these claims and that Ms Harte Lynch’s fall took place due to any negligence they were responsible for. Legal representative for Londis, Jonathan Kilfeather SC, informed Judge Bernard Barton that there is no question that Ms Harte Lynch slipped and fell but the issue is whether the accident was due to any alleged negligence. He also informed the judge that there is no suggestion that the fall “was staged “but did refer to medical evidence to be presented by both sides being “diametrically opposed.” He informed the Judge that there is also an issue in relation to the extent of the injuries sustained. Mr Justice Bernard Barton was informed that the case may take two weeks and may not finish before the end of the court term at the end of July. As he was adjourning the matter, Mr Justice Barton said he preferred to take “so contentious a hearing” in one sitting and he will inform the court how the case should proceed later in the week.

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Hotel Skylight Accident Compensation Award of €75k for Boy

A high court settlement of €75,000 has been awarded to a 12-year old boy who, as a toddler, fell through a skylight in a hotel grounds and broke his arm. At the age of two, Rory Veighey McCabe was playing on a grassy area at the Moyvalley Hotel, Co Kildare. Sadly he fell through an skylight, which was embedded in the ground, and dropped ten feet. This was just one of many skylights in the area that were put in place to provide light to a tunnel used by staff to access the hotel kitchens from the exterior of the hotel. While attending a wedding with his family, Rory was playing on the grass with some other children. Rory was at the wedding reception at the Moyvalley Hotel with his parents. At the time the wedding speeches were taking place in the main ballroom some of the children used the corridor that led to the grassed area outside. It was at this time that Rory fell down ten feet through the tunnel floor. It was alleged that the accessible lawn area had an unsecured skylight and that this represented a dangerous hazard. In addition to this it was alleged that there was a failure to warn the public and the parents of the boy that the skylight was not secured and a failure to prevent a hazard from an area that was easy to access to anyone. Via his mother Nicola Veighey, of Kilcock, Co Kildare, Rory took the hotel accident compensation action against the proprietors of the hotel, Moyvalley Hotel and Leisure Company due to the accident that occurred on June 22,2010. Rory’s legal representative, John Kennedy SC told the court liability was not at issue in the legal action.   Mr Kennedy said that the toddler was not knocked out but did experience some suffering as result of the lacerations and the break to his right arm. He also lost three of his baby teeth due to the accident. Mr Justice Kevin Cross, in approving the personal injury compensation settlement,  said the fall was very severe and the young boy was extremely lucky not to have sustained a brain injury. Rory, the judge said, had a particularly bad fall but he has probably forgotten all by now. The Judge referred to the hotel accident compensation settlement as a good one and he wished Rory well.

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€41k Awarded to 5-year-Old Boy for Coffee Shop Soup Spilling Accident

A High Court personal injury compensation action has been settled for €41,000 in favour of a five year old boy who, when a baby, pulled a bowl of soup on top of himself in a coffee shop and suffered extensive burns. The boy in question, Otto Devine, was just six months old when he sustained superficial scald burns to his arms and legs at a coffee shop at the Airfield Estate, Dundrum, Dublin. The boy was with his father and grandfather when the accident occurred on May 10, 2015. His counsel Carl Hanahoe BL informed the presiding judge, Justice Kevin Cross, that soup and sandwiches were taken directly to the table. He said that the soup was allegedly placed in front of the infant who then caught the bowl spilling the liquid over himself. The young baby was rushed by ambulance to Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin. Here he was found to have partial thickness burns to both of his hands, his left leg and right foot. Additionally there was a redness to the right side of his face right hand and the inside of his left elbow. Overall, three per cent of the boy’s body were found to have been inflicted with burns. Due to this he was referred to the plastic surgery department where his wounds were cleaned and sterile dressings applied. In total the child was in hospital for eight days and two days following his admission he experienced early toxic shock syndrome and developed a fever. After this fever alleviated he was discharged on May 18, 2015. As a result of the accident, Otto was left with three areas of minor scarring, the court heard. The young boy’s legal team told the court that that soup should not have been taken to the table, at a temperature which would inflict serious burns, and put down on the table in  front of a young child. The legal action was taken on behalf of Otto by his father, Conor Devine, against the Airfield Estate as a result of the accident. Liability was not agreed in the case but a settlement was gredd and Justice Kevin Cross gave his approval for it and said that he was happy that Otto had made a good recovery from a serious injury.

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City Car Park Accodient Results in Young Athlete Being Awarded €44,000

A prominent young athlete, who ended up walking for the agony of walking for weeks on an undetected broken bone in her right foot, has been awarded almost €44,000 damages in the Circuit Civil Court. 15-year-old Sophia Crawford, Judge John O’Connor was informed by legal counsel, fell in Drury Street Car Park in Dublin in 2016. However, an x-ray of her foot following the accident had not revealed any bone injury. Barrister Breffni Gordon Gordon, who appeared with Murphy Coady Solicitors for the girl, advised the court that a subsequent MRI scan was conducted some time later during a family holiday in Bahrain. This scan indicated that Sophia had a fractured fifth metatarsal in her right foot, the long bone on the outside of the foot that links to the little toe. Sophia, the court was told, was brought by her father Gerard Crawford to Royal Bahrain Hospital, during the holiday in Bahrain. This was due to fact that she was complaining about additional pain and the fracture was identified. A medical report by Child Consultant Antoinette D’Alton revealed that Sophia, whose parents reside at Balkill Road, Howth, Co Dublin, had experienced significant pain due to the accident which took place when she tripped on an open drain shore at the Drury Street Car Park. Sophia took the personal injury compensation action against Park Rite, owners and operators of Drury Street Multi-Storey Car Park in Dublin’s city centre, via her mother Amanda Crawford. The Judge was informed that Sophia was brought to hospital for medical attention after the accident occurred during April 2016. Despite this, the fracture had not been detected at the time. Mr Gordon said Sophia was a well-known junior athlete and had participated in hockey and tennis for her school and was a keen sailor. The Personal Injuries Board had reviewed the personal injury car park compensation claim at €43,763 and Sophia’a legal team recommended to the court that this be approved. Judge O’Connor approved the settlement with costs.

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Sales Assistant Awarded €15,000 Discrimination Compensation after being ‘Patted’ on Breast by her Boss

A sales assistant who had her left breast ‘patted’ by her boss in front of a colleague at a staff meeting has been awarded €15,000 to at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). WRC Adjudication Officer Eugene Hanly, at the harassment and discrimination case, awarded that amount due to the firm failing to inform the woman of the outcome of the disciplinary investigation into the manager’s conduct. The manager in question immediately resigned his position after meeting with the firm’s Area Manager and discovering that he was being suspended following the investigation. The incident occurred during a staff meeting to discuss the possible closure of the store. DUring that meeting, on June 18th 2018, the woman’s boss is alleged to have put his hand on her chest, pulled up her top, patted her left breast and said, “we will cover them up for this meeting”. The woman told the WRC that she “immediately felt uncomfortable, intimidated and violated”. She informed the hearing that it had an immediate detrimental effect on her health and she was certified unfit for work on certified sick leave. In addition to this she made a complaint on June 20th 2018 to the ‘Team Voice Representative’. The fashion retailer informed the hearing that the alleged perpetrator was immediately suspended from work. Mr Hanly ruled that the complainant “experienced a behaviour/conduct perpetrated by her immediate manager and witnessed by a colleague that she believed was unwarranted conduct which in her opinion violated her dignity and created an intimidating environment”. The firm admitted vicarious liability in the case. He commented: “I find that sufficient evidence was produced to establish the presumption of discrimination.” The victim had made a number of attempted to ascertain the outcome of the investigation of her complaint from the firm. In one letter from the firm she was advised: “Unfortunately I will not be in a position to discuss the outcome of these investigations with you”. After she more more efforts to discover the outcome of the investigation, the woman advised the firm: “I have heard nothing. This has caused me considerable distress and upset and has required me to seek medical advice”. Mr Hanly ruled that the victim was entitled to find out the outcome of the investigation; was entitled to a decision on whether her complaint was upheld or not and was entitled to know what the outcome was, concerning her alleged harasser. He ruled that the fashion retailer has failed to address these matters and “as a consequence, I uphold her complaint of harassment and discrimination”.  

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Former Lord Mayor Claims Lack of Investment Led to Massive Personal Injury Settlements in Cork

Clr. Terry Shannon, a former Lord Mayor of Cork for Fianna Fáil, has claimed that the unusually high level of personal injury compensation settlements in 2018 and so far in 2019 are coming about due to a lack of investment in roads, streets and footpaths over the last number of years. He stated: “It is a direct result of the decline of the condition of the public realm: potholes, cracked footpaths, and so on. The issue is getting worse and the amount paid each year is getting bigger, because we haven’t been able to fix long-standing issues, because national government hasn’t invested the money.” The local authority bodies for Cork City and Cork County Councils have paid out personal injury compensation settlements in the region of €15m for slips, trips and falls since 2016. This information was discovered through a Freedom of Information Act request. It also revealed that that are a good many slips, trips and falls compensation actions that have not yet been settled by these local authority bodies. WIth the latest estimation, taken on March 31, that €1,144,594 in slips, trips and falls compensation claims has been paid out by Cork City Council so far in 2019 in relation to accidents that happened in public areas, including parks and public areas in council-owned housing estates. Mr Shannon also pointed to the fact that Cork City Council has set aside a budgetary figure of €5m to deal with possible slips, trips and falls compensation settlements that happen during 2019. In addition to this fiscal allocation measure, the Council has also put aside another €200,000 that is earmarked for an “upgrade and repair footpaths that have fallen into bad condition and have been the subject of a number of liability claims”. Clr. Shannon, commenting on this revelation, said that this figure as not enough for this purpose and said that is will be “used to patch up areas that have been the result of multiple claims but, ultimately, it won’t go far enough to make a real difference.”      

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Personal Injury Compensation Award of €20,000 for Boy (5) Following Gully Fall

An accident on a water gully near the home of a young boy in Co Donegal has results in the child being awarded €20,000. He has been quite unlucky in tripping and falling near a gully near his home in Co Donegal. The child broke his arm in two places during the incident and had to being treated for  the injuries that he sustained. The boy was just aged five at the time that the accident took place near his home in Dungloe, Co Donegal on July 3rd, 2015. Through his mother and father, the boy took the personal injury compensation legal action against Donegal County Council at Letterkenny Circuit Civil Court. Judge James O’Donoghue told the Court that he was of the opinion that Irish Water were the body charged with the responsibility of controlling the integrity of the water service. He stated: “I thought Irish water took over all that?” Barrister Patricia McCallum, after being advised by solicitor Cormac Hartnett, told the court that this area was still under the control of Donegal County Council. At Letterkenny Circuit Civil Court, the boy’s parents were present and advised the Judge that their son, who is now aged nine-years-old, had made a complete recovery from the unfortunate incident. Judge O’Donoghue gave his approval for the €20,000 gully injury compensation offer. The Judge also awarded the costs for the young boy’s legal representatives.

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Hotel Finger Injury Compensation Awarded to Child in Donegal

€45,000 hotel accident injury compensation has been awarded at the Letterkenny Circuit Court to a four-year-old child following an accident at a a hotel in Bundoran, Co Donegal. The child injury accident occurred at the Allingham Arms Hotel in July 2016 when the child was just two years old. Letterkenny Circuit Court was  informed that the child got his hand stuck in a doorway and the top 4mm of his finger was severed off. The child, whose name must be kept anonymous, was rushed to Sligo Regional Hospital before being then taken to a hospital in the North for additional treatment on his injured finger. The child had a plastic surgery operation so that there would be no long lasting cosmetic damage on the injured finger. Letterkenny Circuit court was told that the injured finger will have no lingering implications for the child’s movement or ability to complete basic tasks. In addition to this it will not prevent him from undertaking gainful employment when he becomes an adult. The child, the court was told, is left right handed and, fortunately, the severed finger is on the left hand. The child had suffered some psychological trauma due to the accident at the Allingham Arms, Judge John Aylmer at Letterkenny Circuit Court was informed. For some time following the hotel accident the child experienced interrupted sleep. However, the judge was told there there have no lasting psychological issues noticed in the child, nor have there been any signs a self conscious nature or confidence issues in relation to the severed finger on his left hand At Letterkenny Circuit Court Judge Aylmer gave his approval to the €45,000 severed finger hotel accident compensation award in relation to the accident that occurred at the Allingham Arms in Bundoran and the injuries the child suffered.

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Newspaper Publishes Report on Personal Injury Compensation Claims Made Against Galway City Council

The Galway City Tribune has recently published a report on the city council’s expenditure on compensation claims made against them. The reporters revealed that the city has paid over €4 million in personal injury claim compensation since the beginning of 2015. This is a significant sum for a city council to be spending on personal injury claims. This figure includes insurance covers public areas, as well as paying the excess on all claims that are made against them. The figures were obtained through a Freedom of Information request by the newspaper. The breakdown shows that the cost of public liability insurance for Galway City Council was  €3.4 million over the same time period. The yearly figures were also included, which gives the expenditure as follows; €1.5 million in 2014, €1.4 million in 2015 and just less than €500,000 in 2016. Galway City Council also had to pay for the excess on personal injury claims in addition to the public liability insurance. The yearly figures for this excess were also given; they amounted to €142,000 in 2016; €242,000 in 2015; and €205,000 in 2014. Alongside the figures themselves, the reasons for the claims made against Galway City Council were also given. The newspaper reported that the largest proportion of the personal injury compensation claims are for injuries suffered in falls on the streets of the city. The number of cobbled streets in central Galway were deemed responsible for large quantity of claims of this type. Galway City Council announced in August 2017 that the paving and cobbles on the Shop Street thoroughfare are to be replaced with smooth pavement to reduce the number of people falling over and hurting themselves in this area. Galway City Council Representative said, at the time, that plans were in place to solve the uneven paving on the street which has been the subject of many compensation claims. In March 2017, a similar report was compiled about compensation claims made against Dublin’s local authorities. The report highlighted the fact that more than €63 million was paid out in personal injury compensation by Dublin’s four local authorities in just five years. Dublin City Council paid out the most – totaling €41,322,784.12 to 3,853 claimants from 2012 until 2016. At the time of the report a South Dublin County Council  spokeswoman said: “The majority of cases in relation to public liability cases are trips, slips and falls on footpaths/roads, or in public parks. A small number of claims are in regard to damage to property, i.e. car tyres.”

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State Claims Agency Releases Report on Sexual Assault Statistics Following Public Pressure

The State Claims Agency has recently released a report on employee sexual harassment in the healthcare system following public pressure from several bodies to do so. RTE, the state broadcaster, recently aired a damning report which revealed sexual harassment legal actions was taken by five members of staff employed in the State healthcare system over the last number of years. These staff members stated in their claim that they had been assaulted by users of the healthcare service. The complaints were made to the State Claims Agency. The Agency has not released specific details about where the alleged abuse took place in any individual cases. However, the report was able to announce that the claims are in connection with incidents that happened between 2012 and 2016. The five claims make up almost 50% all sexual harassment claims currently being handled by the State Claims Agency for the State. Fianna Fail and the Oireachtas Justice Committee publicly called for the State Claims Agency to release the report, breaking down of all sexual harassment claims made against individual public sector bodies available for scrutiny. The State Claims Agency had initially declined to release any information on such claims. Further requests for the information came following the initial refusal by the State Claims Agency to release such a breakdown, by employer and sector, of all the sexual harassment claims which it handles on the State’s behalf. Additionally, in November 2017 The Oireachtas Justice and Equality Committee made contact with Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan requesting him to support a call for the data to be released. As a result of this persistent pressure, the State Claims Agency made a limited amount of information on the number of such claims available. The SCA did not say where the incidents that claims arose from happened. In an official statement released the State Claims Agency confirmed that it has managed 11 claims of sexual harassment in the workplace, which it said were “referable to three State Authorities, inclusive of all Delegated Healthcare Agencies, in the years 2012 to 2016”. It also confirmed that in six of the 11 cases they’ve handled the alleged assailant and assailed person are both staff members. In the remaining five incidents they said the individual believed responsible for the assault was a service user in the healthcare area and the victim of the assault was a member of staff. The State Claims Agency (SCA) said that “The claims that the SCA handle, of this nature, are claims which are wholly or mainly ones seeking compensation for injury (mental or physical). We also need further information on the manner in which the SCA deals with such claims, how many of the cases end up in court, full details of all the costs incurred and whether the State seeks to recoup any of these costs from the alleged assailant.”

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Boy Left With Permanent Scars Receives Compensation for Dog Bite

A boy, who was left with permanent scars on his face and severe dental damage, has received a settlement of compensation from the owners of the dog which inflicted the injuries. Following being attacked and bitten in the face by a neighbour’s dog 15-year-old schoolboy, Adam Russell was today awarded €32,000 compensation for personal injuries. Adam Russell (12 years of age at the time of the attack) was playing while visiting the home Erica Deacon and Eoin Gibson in the Ballinclea Heights estate in Killiney on 28 September 2013. While he was playing, Deacon and Gibson’s German Pointer dog suddenly attacked him. The dog knocked him to the ground, and bit him on the face. Adam was rushed him to the Swiftcare Clinic, Dundrum, Dublin. Medical staff at the facility treated the lacerations to his face. The injury inflicted to his nose was sutured and the wound just below his lower lip had been closed with surgical glue. The injury suffered to his tooth was diagnosed, but was treated at a later date by dentists at Dalkey Dental Clinic. Through his father, Adam made a claim for dog injury compensation against the owners of the dog. Counsel for Adam Russell, Brian Sugrue, advised Circuit Court President Justice Raymond Groarke that Adam Russell, who was 12 at the time of the attack, was bitten on his face by the dog while playing with it, and that the dog’s owners should have been more attentive of the situation that Adam was in. “Adam suffered three specific face wounds,” Sugrue stated.  “He sustained a significant laceration to the bridge of his nose, a puncture wound to his lower lip and a chip fracture to one of his upper teeth.” Mr Sugrue said Adam Russell’s injured tooth would possibly need a crown in the future but part of the €32,000 dog attack compensation settlement offer took future dental work into account. Consultant Plastic Surgeon Patricia Eadie was brought in to consult on the case and advise the court on the extent of Adam’s injuries. She had examined Adam’s scars late in 2016 and said that revision surgery may be necessary. The scarring he suffered on his nose is permanent. Judge Groarke was advised that Mr Sugrue was recommending acceptance of the €32,000 compensation offer.  He commented this was within the ball park of compensation for such injuries, though was not to be considered generous.  The compensation offer was approved. As Adam is currently a minor, it will be invested in court funds until Adam becomes 18 years of age in 2019.

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