Judge rules out final payment for injuries

A man who suffered catastrophic injuries during his birth at City General Hospital, Cork, is to receive a further €1.45m for his care over the next five years.

Connor Corroon, aged 19, of Copsetown, Mallow, Co Cork, is permanently disabled, cannot speak, and is confined to a wheelchair. He appealed to the High Court for a final lump sum payment to settle his care costs case but a judge had ruled that he must accept a periodic payment.

Four years ago, he secured an interim payment of €1.6m under a part settlement of his action and another payment of €475,000 was made last year.

Mr Justice Bernard Barton yesterday approved the latest periodic payment of €1.45m and terms of settlement on Mr Corroon’s care for the next five years.

Mr Corroon had, through his mother Judith Corroon, sued City General Hospital and Pallany Pillay, a consultant obstetrician, both of Infirmary Rd, Cork, arising out of the circumstances of his birth at the hospital on February 6, 1995.

Liability was conceded and the case partially settled with interim payments totalling over €2m having been made to date. His case was the first to be adjourned four years ago while the High Court awaited the necessary periodic payments legislation.

Approving the settlement and costs yesterday, Mr Justice Barton told the Corroon family he had, as a judges who deals with these type of cases, just received a consultation paper from the Department of Justice relating to legislation for periodic payments in cases involving catastrophic injury.

Counsel for the family, Desmond O’Neill SC, said the Corroons were happy with the settlement.

At the start of the case two months ago, Mrs Corroon asked for a final payment and said the past four years, involving more than 20 assessments of her son for return visits to the court for interim payments, had been “horrendous”. Her son hopes to go to college and get on with his life and not have the “fishbowl” life undergoing assessments by different experts, she said.

Mr Justice Barton ruled Mr Corroon must accept a periodic settlement payment to cover the next five years of his care costs. He said it would be “catastrophic in another sense” if the court finalised the case on the basis of a final payment and that money ran out later.