A piece of glass in a three-year-old child’s forehead went undetected because no X-rays had been taken when treated in hospital, a judge has been told.
Judge Mary O'Malley Costello heard that when Arron Kehoe of Standhouse Lawns, Newbridge, Co Kildare, cut his head after running into a glass panel in his home, he had been taken to the National Children's Hospital in Dublin.
Barrister Tom Clarke, counsel for the boy who is now aged six, told the Circuit Civil Court that in March 2014 Aaron’s wounds to his forehead had been cleaned, and after some glass was removed, had been sealed with glue.
“Aaron was kept for observation for three hours but no X-ray examination was undertaken in the accident and emergency department of the hospital to ascertain if there were any foreign objects remaining in the wound,” Mr Clarke said.
Mr Clarke, who appeared with solicitors Coughlan White and Partners, said that following his discharge the boy’s wound only partly healed and when his mother, Roisin Kehoe, took him back to the hospital, an X-ray revealed there was still a piece of glass under the skin.
The child had been admitted to the plastic surgery department of the Children’s University Hospital, Temple Street, Dublin, where he underwent surgery for scar revision and removal of the piece of glass.
Mr Clarke said the hospital had made a settlement offer of €20,000 to Aaron and he was recommending it to the court. The offer was approved by Judge O’Malley Costello.