The compensation claim for accident injury in a creche involving Sean Ross McGowan, who suffered brain damage and blindness as the result of almost drowning in a park pond, has been settled before Mr. Justice Sean Ryan in the High Court for a sum of £542,000.
Sean was almost three years old when in August 2007 he was taken on a crèche outing to a park while in the care of Miss Carr´s Home Housing Association. He was allowed out of his pushcahair and, while care staff were chatting between themselves, disappeared for some minutes before being discovered at the bottom of a nearby pond.
Sean had almost drowned when rescued and, despite being resuscitated by a doctor, suffered catastrophic brain damage to 95% of his brain. The accident has left Sean, now 5, totally blind, incapacitated and in need of constant care.
The court heard how Sean had been a lively good-natured child prior to the accident and, as the child’s creche was a funded service health service will also pay the lifelong costs of care for the child as part of the compensation claim.
The defendants had already admitted liability for the incident, and the case was only in court for assessment of damages and court approval as with all compensation claims involving children. Approving the compensation award in court, the judge paid tribute to the child’s parents and said it was obvious they were committed, devoted and dedicated to him.