A settlement of compensation for a child killed in a car accident has been approved in the Circuit Court for the mother of a toddler who was run over by a neighbour.
Lily Rose O´Toole was approaching her second birthday when, on 3rd March 2013, she was in the front garden of her family home in Tallaght, Dublin with her mother Ruth. Ruth left her daughter unattended for just a few minutes as she chatted with a neighbour who was just about to leave in her car.
After saying goodbye to the neighbour, Ruth turned back towards her own garden and could not see her daughter. Ruth then heard a bang, and turned around to see her daughter on the floor behind the neighbour´s car.
Lily Rose managed to get up and walk a few steps towards her mother but, when Ruth picked her up, she noticed a graze on her daughter´s forehead. The toddler was rushed to Tallaght Hospital, but died shortly after of intra-abdominal bleeding caused by internal injuries.
Ruth sought legal advice and made a claim for compensation for a child killed in a car accident under the Civil Liability Act 1962 against her neighbour – Esther Dillon. Ms Dillon´s liability was accepted by her car insurance company and a settlement of €36,188 was agreed.
Because part of the compensation settlement included compensation for Lily Rose´s ten-year-old step-brother, the settlement of compensation for a child killed in a car accident had to be approved by a judge before the claim could be resolved.
Consequently, the case was brought before Mr Justice Raymond Groarke at the Circuit Civil Court, who was told the circumstances of Lily Rose´s tragic accident. The judge was told that the settlement of compensation included €20,394 for Ruth´s mental distress and €10,794 for fees and funeral expenses – the other €5,000 being awarded to the step-brother, Patrick.
Judge Groarke approved the settlement of compensation for a child killed in a car accident and expressed the court´s deep sympathy – saying that the loss of a child was a terrible thing to happen to any mother.
