€40,000 award for boy goalkeeper after hospital 'failed to detect' shard of glass in his hand

Mr Byrne, who appeared with Sean Grennan Solicitors, said Brandyn when he was five years of age had fallen and injured the palm of his left hand on broken glass and had been taken to the accident and emergency unit of the hospital.

Counsel told Mr Justice Raymond Groarke that the staff treating Brandyn had ruled out the possibility of a foreign body remaining in the wound and had discharged him.

Following cleaning of the laceration steri-strips had been applied and the boy had been given medication for the relief of pain. His hand had not been x-rayed.

“Brandyn continued to have complaints and returned to the hospital a fortnight later where, on assessment, it was noted the wound had not healed,” Mr Byrne told the court.

He had been found to still have pain and had been unable to close his hand.

“An x-ray was carried out which revealed a 1.5 centimetre piece of glass still embedded in his hand,” Mr Byrne said.

Mr Byrne said Brandyn had then been required to undergo invasive surgery for the removal of the shard of glass that the hospital had earlier failed to detect on the first treatment.

He said Brandyn’s solicitor had fully explored the extent to which the laceration had been responsible in the first place for the boy’s ongoing complaints or to what extent the alleged negligence on the part of hospital staff had been a contributory factor.

Mr Byrne said the hospital had proffered a settlement of €40,000 which he was recommending to the court.

Judge Groarke approved what he described as a very good offer from the defendant.