*The bouncy castle incident occurred on the grounds of St Conaire’s NS in Shannon.
A JUDGE has recommended the rejection of a compensation pay-out of €32,500 for a 10 year old Shannon girl from “a bad ol day at the bouncy castle” after deeming the offer not high enough.
At Ennis Circuit Court, Judge Francis Comerford said that he would be recommending a rejection of the €32,500 offer from the defendants in the case after a medical report was handed into court.
The medical report concluded that Ayat Farhan will require further surgery during her teenage years arising from an injury she sustained after a fall off the bouncy castle on the grounds of St Conaire’s National School in Shannon six years ago when Ayat was aged five.
Ayat, who turns 11 in August has already undergone two surgeries from the fall.
The case first came before the Circuit Court last October where Judge Comerford said that he was then “generally positive” to the recommendation of the €32,500 payout to Ayat but required one more medical report on the question as to whether she may require a further surgical correction to her arm that was injured before making a final decision.
In court last October, Judge Comerford got a close-up of Ayat’s residual scarring to her arm from her two surgeries.
Accompanied by her father, Farhad Jabed to the judge’s bench at Ennis Circuit Court, Judge Comerford re-assured Ayat when he told her, “It was a bad ol’ day at the bouncy castle and how are you now?”
In the case, Ayat Farhan from Shannon and through her father, Farhad Jabed is suing the Board Of Management of St Conaire’s National School, Shannon, Fittest Superstars Ltd and Alan’s Bouncy Castles Ltd for personal injury damages.
Counsel for Ayat, Elaine Power BL told now Judge Comerford that the medical report he requested concluded that Ayat will require more surgery arising from her injury when she is aged 14 to 16 years of age.
Ms Power said that the report discloses what it would cost if the surgery was to be carried out privately.
Ms Power said that Ayat’s father is keen that the surgery take place.
Ms Power had recommended the €32,500 offer to court last October but with the new medical report, she said that she was no longer in a position to recommend the offer and she has communicated this to the defendants.
Judge Comerford said that “the cost of the future operation would be a very significant portion of the offer made”.
Judge Comerford said that he was now recommending rejection of the offer “as it is not appropriate because of the need for further surgery”.
Judge Comerford said that he was directing that Ayat’s father not accept the offer.
Ms Power previously stated that Ayat sustained a fracture to her distal humerus – or a broken elbow – from the fall.
Ms Power said that after the bouncy castle accident, Ayat was admitted to hospital where she first required a procedure to use wiring to stabilise the fracture.
Ms Power said that the school girl “remained in a cast and sling for six to eight weeks and then she had to undergo a second procedure to remove the wiring from her elbow under general anaesthetic”
She said, “Thereafter she was very stiff in the elbow for two weeks and was restricted in her activities. Thankfully, she made a very good functional recovery”.
Ms Power said that the fall occurred during the school holidays and Ayat “didn’t miss any school and she was not restricted in her sporting activities”.
Outlining the background to the injury, Ms Power said that her client’s case is that Ayat was caused to fall onto a hard concrete and tarmacadam surface adjacent to the bouncy castle on June 22nd 2019 at the school premises.
Ms Power said that “the case is pleaded on the basis of negligence through the way the bouncy castle was set up so as to permit a child to fall from it onto a hard surface”.
Ms Power also claimed that there was a failure by the defendants to adequately supervise the bouncy castle and a failure to prevent footwear that was taken off by children at the entrance to the bouncy castle accumulating around the base of the bouncy castle.
Judge Comerford has now adjourned the case to July 25th to fix a date for hearing. Any payout will be held in trust for Ayat Farhan until she turns 18.
