Girl, 15, loses €60k damages case over burns from soup spill

A 15-year-old schoolgirl, who suffered second-degree burns when she spilt soup on herself, has lost a €60,000 damages claim against a Dublin restaurant.

Judge Jacqueline Linnane, as well as dismissing Cora Byrne’s claim for damages, awarded costs of the unsuccessful case against her mother Samantha Byrne, who had taken the proceedings on her daughter’s behalf.

Samantha Byrne, of Allingham St, Pimlico, Dublin 8, told the Circuit Civil Court she and three family members had visited Ann’s Bakery, Mary St, Dublin, while out shopping on in July 2014.

She said she bought two cardboard cartons of soup at the delicatessen counter and had placed one of them in front of her daughter, Cora, who was 12 at the time.

The soup had spilt over Cora’s lap, who jumped up screaming and who was forced to pull down her jeans to avoid further burning. She had been treated by staff at the restaurant, which is owned by Ray McNamara and which trades as Ann’s Bakery.

Cora told counsel Frank Martin, for Mr McNamara, that when the soup carton was placed in front of her, she had taken off the lid.

She had begun dipping bread in the soup before it toppled over and spilt onto her lap, scalding the tops of her legs. A member of staff had put a spray on her thighs to ease the pain and she had been taken to hospital by ambulance immediately afterwards.

Her burns, which had blistered, had been dressed at the hospital where she returned the following day for further treatment.

Mr Martin told the court that the case had been narrowed down to the question of the temperature of the soup that had spilt on Cora’s legs. There was no dispute as to how the incident had occurred, as staff had not been involved in what had happened at the table.

Judge Linnane said delicatessen assistant Alice Dunne had been working at the restaurant for the past 20 years and would check the temperature of the soup several times a day.

On this occasion, it had been recorded at 74 degrees which, the court had been told, was a comfortable temperature for serving to customers.

The judge, dismissing the case, said that the evidence showed that the plaintiff had taken the lid off the carton of soup and had knocked it over while dipping her bread in it.