Schoolboy who hurt hand in race to swimming pool door settles case for €37.5k

The boy's mother told the court her son suffered a cut to his forearm that extended from the elbow to the wrist.

Alex Hayes Judge was racing to the pool at Tempelogue College, Dublin, when the accident happened as his arm hit the pool door and shattered the glass. File photo: iStock

A schoolboy who hurt his hand when he was racing with friends to the door of a school swimming pool has settled a High Court action for €37,500.

Alex Hayes Judge was racing to the pool at Tempelogue College, Dublin, when the accident happened as his arm hit the pool door and shattered the glass.

The settlement, Mr Justice Garrett Simons was told, was without an admission of liability.

Alex Hayes Judge of Shelton Park, Kimmage, Dublin, had through his mother Deborah Hayes Judge sued the Spiritan Education Trust which is a patron of Templeogue College, Templeville Road, Tempelogue, Dublin, as a result of the accident on December 13, 2019.

In an affidavit to the court, the boy’s mother said her son, who was 14 years of age at the time, was with friends in the schoolyard when they decided to race to the swimming pool door. She said Alex’s left arm hit the pool door and shattered the glass.

Her son, she said, suffered a laceration to his left forearm and the base of his left thumb. The laceration to his forearm, she said, extended from the elbow to the wrist.

Alex was admitted to the hospital where, under general anaesthetic, the lacerations were cleaned and repaired.

Ms Hayes Judge said her son has been left with a 28cm scar extending from his elbow to his wrist.

Mr Justice Garrett Simons noted liability was very much at issue in the case. He said the €37,500 represented a very generous settlement and he approved it.