A school girl who fractured her ankle, during a school trip, while jumping off a trampoline has settled her child accident compensation action for €35,000 at the High Court.
13-year-old Shauna O’Gorman, through her legal counsel, told the court that she believed there had been a failure to manage the activity on the trampoline correctly, a failure to see to it that the matting was properly in place and that the activity area was not kept clear of all obstructions.
The management of Irish Gymnastics Ltd refuted these allegations and claimed that there was negligence on the part of the young girl in relation to the accident. They alleged that the girl landed on a crash mat in an awkward way and had also failed to tell them that she had previously broken her left foot.
The defence team also made the allegation that Shauna had not followed the specific and repeated instructions given to her in relation to the correct style to land on the mats.
Shauna was attending a gymnastic event as part of a school tour and children were jumping on the trampoline in turn. Ms O’Gorman, who had jumped on the trampoline once prior to the accident, was just finishing her second go when the accident took place.
Sara Moorehead SC, legal counsel for Shauna, informed Justice Kevin Cross that the children were jumping on the matting on the floor. Another witness added that she was of the opinion that the mats on the floor were not close enough together to prevent accidents occurring.
In the High Court, Justice Cross was told that an MRI last year showed that the child’s ankle was now completely healed. However, following the accident Shauna had a plaster on her ankle and was could not go on the first week of a family in Turkey that year. However she was able to link up with her family for the second week.
Shauna, initiated the fractured ankle compensation claim through her father Joseph O’Gorman, against Irish Gymnastics Ltd which operates as Excel Gymnastics, Celbridge Industrial Estate, Celbridge, Co Kildare due to the accident that took place on June 12, 2015.
In giving his approval for the child injury compensation settlement, Justice Cross said it was a good settlement as it was possible that Ms O’Gorman would not succeed if the case was allowed to continue.