Boy, 5, secures €650k after near drowning

A FIVE-YEAR-OLD boy who suffered catastrophic brain damage after almost drowning in a pond after being allowed out of his buggy while on a creche outing has secured €650,000 in a High Court settlement against the creche and the Health Service Executive (HSE).

Earlier, Mr Justice Sean Ryan had rejected a €550,000 offer as insufficient. The court heard the boy requires 24-hour care.

Experts differed on his life expectation, which they say could be between six months and four years.