€1m for teen paralysed in baby swing fall

A YOUNG man left paralysed after he swung out of a baby’s swing in a ‘silly act’ has been awarded almost €1million in damages.

Liam Daly, who is now 20, was 15 when he climbed onto the toddler’s swing and sat on the cradle part of the swing – as he was not able to fit into the seat itself – and began to build up momentum.

He fell backwards as he swung down towards the ground and was left paralysed from the waist down, the High Court heard yesterday. He received €975,000 in damages following the settlement of his case against the playground owners.

Bruce Antoniotti SC, for Liam, said the case was taken against Lynch’s Caravan Park in Bettystown, Co. Meath, where Liam’s parents had owned a seaside mobile home for ten years.

The accident took place in July 2013 at a playground designed for use by the park’s residents, and which contained two swings, suitable for babies and toddlers, a slide, see-saw and other equipment.

Liam had gone to play there after dinner at around 7pm, while his mother, sister and other relatives remained in the mobile home, counsel said.

He said his client had landed heavily on his back, and suffered a very severe injury to his spine. Liam could not feel his legs, the court was told.

He said his client, who is now 20, had no sensation or power in his lower limbs, and was paraplegic and wheelchair bound.

Mr Antoniotti said a personal injuries case had been taken by Liam’s father, John Daly, on behalf of his son, who had a mild learning difficulty.

He said Liam’s life-changing injuries could have merited a maximum payment of damages of up to €3million.

But he said that had the case gone to a full trial, there was a high risk that his client could lose the case entirely, or be found to bear a large portion of the blame.

The caravan park had denied negligence, and said the accident was caused by the way Liam used the swing. He therefore recommended to the court that an offer of settlement made by the caravan park for €975,000 should be accepted.

He explained: ‘The swings are baby and toddler swings – they are perfectly safe for use by babies and toddlers.’

And he said the surface on which Liam landed might not have held much relevance given the way that he fell.

‘I am afraid the case could be dismissed. It was a simple accident, the swing was not being used properly. The swing was fine,’ counsel said.

He added that Liam had come to grips with his injury, that he had excellent wheelchair skills and had recently passed his driving test, but was vulnerable to a risk of complications arising from his spinal cord injury, including respiratory problems.

‘They are perfectly safe for use – by toddlers’