Ryanair to pay €20,000 to boy (14) whose foot was burned during flight

Ray Managh

Ryanair cabin staff gave no immediate assistance to a 14-year-old schoolboy whose right foot was scalded by a spillage of tea while he travelled to Greece for a holiday, a judge in the Circuit Civil Court heard on Tuesday.

Judge Sinead McMullan was told that Daniel Molloy’s father had to take him to a toilet and pour cold water on the burn.

Cabin staff eventually arrived to help the boy and produced a small cooling patch and left a small bottle of burn lotion with his mother, Laura Warde, who had also suffered tea burns on the flight at the same time as her son.

The €60,000 claim brought by Ms Warde on behalf of her son alleged that a call had been put out at her behest to see if any other passenger could provide medical assistance.

Judge McMullan learned that the call had been put out as only qualified medical staff could access a second medical aid box, and as no passenger came forward to assist, neither Daniel nor his mum had been given a second cooling patch or extra burn lotion.

Ryanair had arranged for an ambulance to meet the family when they disembarked the plane in Greece. Daniel was taken to the emergency department of a local hospital in Greece, where his wound had been sprayed with saline solution and a cream was applied.

“Daniel was unable to swim during the week-long holiday,” Barrister Ciaran Mandal told Judge McMullan, which, he said, had been very upsetting to him.

Mr Mandal, who appeared with Coleman Legal Solicitors, said that when Daniel, who lives at Lavarna Road, Terenure, Dublin 6W, had arrived home from Zakynthos on June 14th, last year he was found by his local GP to have a healing second-degree burn to the top of his foot.

Medical reports opened to Judge McMullan showed that Daniel had not been left with any scarring.

Mr Mandal said Ryanair had made a settlement offer of €20,000 to Daniel, which he was recommending to the court.

“The enjoyment of Daniel’s holiday was adversely affected as he was unable to enjoy it to its fullest extent because of pain and having been unable to swim,” Mr Mandal said.

Judge McMullan approved the €20,000 offer and said she considered it a good settlement. A €60,000 damages claim by Daniel’s mother against Ryanair was listed for hearing in October last but was struck out on consent.