Teen awarded €50,000 after alleged collision with waiter carrying coffee

A teenager whose forearm was scalded when a hotel waiter carrying a tray of hot coffee allegedly collided with him has settled his High Court action for €50,000.

Daniel Paterson sustained a scalding injury to his left forearm and was left with a scar.

Now aged 17, of Palmerstown Park, Rathmines, Dublin, he had, through his mother Leonie Paterson, sued the four star Herbert Park Hotel, Ballsbridge, Dublin as a result of the accident on the hotel premises on March 10th, 2019.

In an affidavit, his mother said a staff member carrying a tray of hot coffee had collided with her son and coffee spilt on his left forearm.

The hotel denied all the claims and there was a dispute as to how the accident occurred, the court heard.

Mr Justice Garrett Simons accepted there were issues in relation to liability in the case.

Ms Paterson said her son sustained a scalding injury to his left forearm, was helped at the hotel and later brought to St Vincent’s Hospital, Dublin where he received painkillers. A burn gel pack was also applied to the arm as well as a dressing.

Her son had to follow up at the hospital outpatients for four weeks until the burn healed, she said. He went on to develop residual scarring and was left with a red scar which was 5cms long.

It was claimed the boy had 10 weeks of laser treatment to reduce the redness of the scarring.

His mother said he son missed a number of days from school after the accident and was disrupted in his sporting pursuits when he was on the junior cup panel for rugby in his school but later returned to playing the sport.

He had avoided wearing short sleeved T-shirts but has come to terms in a very sensible and realistic way with the scar, she added.

Approving the settlement, Mr Justice Simons said it was a good one.