Children lose €38k claims over needle injuries

Two children, aged 3 and 4 when they suffered needlestick injuries while playing in a rubbish-strewn park, have each lost €38,000 damages claims against a local authority.

Judge Matthew Deery said the upset of their parents, who understood the dangers associated with such wounds, had not been mirrored in the children.

The judge said Lee Cox, aged 4, and Helen Brown, aged 3, had been taken to their doctors to get injections, which was not uncommon for children. Fears an adult might have of developing bloodborne diseases could not be associated with them.