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School brothers Daithi and Cathal Owens, who saw their two-year-old sister Katie mutilated and seriously injured in an attack by a Brazilian tapir at the Dublin Zoo, received damages of € 33,000 each for nervous shock. .
Judge John O’Connor, when approving the payment of the € 66,000 compensation in the Civil Circuit Court on Tuesday, heard that the children were only eight and six years old when the tapir, named Rio, launched the savage attack during a visit of Co Mayo. family to the zoo in August 2013.
Katie, who suffered serious arm and stomach injuries, was saved when her mother, Patricia Frost, risked her own life by throwing her body at the enraged animal and between it and her baby.
Lawyer Francis McGagh told the court, which two years ago approved a 25,000 euro settlement with another brother, 10-year-old Ruari, that Rio attacked after the Owens family had been able to enter the compound for a close-up with Rio and her newborn calf, Jenny.
The attack made world news at the time and the Zoological Society of Ireland was charged with violating health and safety regulations but was spared a criminal conviction after agreeing to pay 5,000 euros to local charities.
Katie, after receiving first aid treatment at the zoo, was rushed to Temple Street Children’s Hospital for emergency surgery. His mother was also hospitalized and treated for injuries at the Mater Hospital in Dublin.
McGagh, who appeared with Cathy McDarby from Mayo attorneys McDarby and Co., told Judge O’Connor that Daithi, now 15, and Cathal, now 13, had visited the zoo with their parents Darragh Owens and Patricia Frost. , and his siblings Ruari (now 17) and Katie (now nine) and by agreement through a friend he had been allowed, with a zoo keeper, to enter the tapir enclosure.
The tapir, usually a docile mammal, is believed to have attacked after an “excited screech” from little Katie, lifting her up with its mouth and shaking her violently. In a split-second response, her mother had thrown herself on the tapir, pulling her daughter out of the animal’s mouth, while the zookeeper and the girl’s father contained the attacking animal.
Mr. McGagh, who, with Cathy McDarby, has represented the family of Orchard House, Mochara, Shrule, Co Mayo, during their seven years of legal proceedings, told Judge O’Connor that Daithi and Cathal had suffered psychological trauma significant as a consequence of the incident, including disturbing memory incidents, nightmares, and anxiety.
“The kids were terrified, shocked, and shocked,” McGagh said.
He said the publication in a medical journal of little Katie’s horrible injuries and the subsequent publication of the images in the general media had no doubt greatly exacerbated the family’s distress.
McGagh has already told the Circuit Civil Court, which is limited to damages of up to € 60,000, that a personal injury lawsuit has been filed on behalf of Katie and on behalf of her parents in the unlimited financial jurisdiction of the Superior Court.
Claims on behalf of Mr. Owens and Ms. Frost can be settled out of court at any time.
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