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€35k Ankle Break Injury Compensation for Girl Who Broke Ankle at Rented Family Home

€35,000 ankle break injury compensation has been awarded a 17-year-old Maria Collins who fractured her ankle when she fell over a pothole in the backyard of her family’s rented accomodation.

The personal injury compensation award was made against the landlord owners of the property, namely Dublin City Council. The girl’s mother, Caroline Collins, spoke in court to say that previous complaints had been registered with Dublin City Council before the accident in relation to the danger of the potholes in question.

The Court was told that Maria had been taken to Temple Street Children’s Hospital where she for treatment following the accident. She was tended to by consultant orthopaedic surgeon Conor Hurson. X-rays showed that that a fracture of the right ankle bone had taken place and  Maria was placed in a temporary backslab immobilising cast. A later appointment was arranged for her with the fracture clinic at the hospital.

Soon after this Maria had her cast change from a temporary immobilising backslab to a full fibreglass case which remained in place for a period of five weeks. Maria was prescribed with a course of paracetamol to deal with the ongoing pain that she was suffering from.

Maria’s legal counsel Esther Earley, informed the Circuit Civil Court that the fall took place just over 18 months previously when Maria was 14-year-old. Ms Earley, told the court that the girl’s ankle twisted in a hole in the tarmacadam surface in the back yard of the local authority home.

Ms Earley commented: “She (Maria) suffered a non-­displaced intra-articular fracture which has a higher risk of developing post-traumatic osteoarthritis.”

According to Ms Earley, Dublin City Council was not only the only local body responsible for the area. However, in this case, as landlords for the property they had an inspection and maintenance duty in relation to it.

Judge Groarke gave his approval for ankle break compensation settlement offer of €35,000 once he had been told that the girl is unlikely to suffer post-traumatic osteoarthritis.