Judge awards ‘grief money’ to boy who wasn’t alive when his sister died

The Injuries Board had assessed damages of €42,777 to be divided between the surviving family of Vanessa Siatka, who was killed in a hit-and-run in Dublin in 2015, to include the cost of her funeral.

The Board did not consider compensation for her brother, Marcel Siatka, as he had not been born at the time.

However, Judge Terence O’Sullivan said it would be appropriate to allocate some of the compensation to Marcel, as he would eventually find out about the accident and grieve for his sister.

He ordered that the €2,000 award to each of Vanessa’s three grandparents should be reduced to €1,500 to allow for a sum of €1,500 to be paid into court for Marcel’s future benefit.

Vanessa’s parents will receive €14,500 each, and €7,240 will go towards the cost of Vanessa’s funeral and headstone.