Student served scalding curry in polystyrene cup awarded €14k for burns

An 18-year-old student who was served scalding hot curry sauce in a feather-light polystyrene cup has been awarded €14,000 damages for burn injuries against a takeaway restaurant.

Circuit Court president Mr Justice Raymond Groarke said the manner in which the sauce had been packaged for John Patrick Starrs had failed to reach an appropriate standard.

Barrister Aaron Shearer told the Circuit Civil Court that Mr Starrs, now 21, purchased a meal at a Chinese takeaway restaurant known as Kings Garden, in Main Street, Tallaght, Co Dublin, in June 2010.

Mr Starrs, of Donomore Avenue, Tallaght, had bought items from the Kings Garden menu for both himself and a friend and the meals were packed in a brown paper carrier bag by the defendant’s staff.

He said that when Mr Starrs was being dropped off at his home by his friend he started dividing the various items of food for each of them. He had placed his right hand in the paper bag and had immediately been scalded by the hot curry sauce.

Mr Starrs told Judge Groarke he had been greatly distressed by the incident and had run into his house to pour cold water over the back of his hand. It had turned red and he had great difficulty sleeping that night.

The following morning he had gone to a Youth Reach course but had immediately been referred to his GP, who had applied cream and sent him on to Tallaght Hospital.

He had been detained in the hospital for a day, had dressings applied to large burn blisters, and was given antibiotics. Afterwards, he had attended his doctor and the hospital’s wound management clinic on a number of occasions.

Mr Starrs told the court the skin on the back of his hand now feels tight and he experiences pain and discolouration in cold weather.

Judge Groarke said the contents of the cup had escaped and had caused Mr Starrs a nasty injury, but he held him one third responsible for his injury on the basis that he should have looked into the bag before putting his hand into it. He reduced the €14,000 award to €9,464.

Mr Shearer told the court the claim was based on negligence by the restaurant on the grounds it had provided Mr Starrs with a defective cup, on which the lid had become loose.