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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.