€35,000 council house injury compensation has been awarded a 17-year-old Maria Collins who fractured her ankle when she fell over a pothole in her own backyard.
The compensation award was made against the owners of the property Dublin City Council. Maria’s mother, Caroline Collins, informed the court that previous complaints had been submitted to the council prior to the accident about the danger of the potholes in the backyard on the property.
Legal representative for Maria Collins, of Avila Park, Cappagh Drive, Finglas, Dublin Esther Earley, informed the Circuit Civil Court that the fall occurred just over 18 months ago when Maria aged 14. Ms Earley, appearing with Niamh O’Brien of O’Brien Murphy Solicitors, informed the court that the girl’s ankle twisted in a hole in the tarmacadam surface in the yard to the rear of the local authority home.
Ms Earley stated: “She (Maria) suffered a non-displaced intra-articular fracture which has a higher risk of developing post-traumatic osteoarthritis.”
She went on to say that the girl had been rushed to Temple Street Children’s Hospital where she received treatment from consultant orthopaedic surgeon Conor Hurson. X-rays indicated that a fracture of the right ankle bone had occurred. Maria waseen placed in a temporary backslab immobilising cast and further treatment was scheduled for her with to the fracture clinic.
Not long after this Maria had shortly had been moved from a temporary immobilising backslab to a full fibreglass case. This remained in place for five weeks, during which time Maria was prescribed with a course of paracetamol for pain relief.
Dublin City Council, Ms Earley informed the court, was not only the sole local authority responsible for the area. However as landlords for the development they had an inspection and maintenance duty in relation to the property.
