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Ireland: €80,000 award to man injured by laser pen in school

Twenty-four year-old Dillon Breen of Dublin was awarded €80,000 (USD $90,400) on March 6 2020, for losing 10 percent of his right eye's vision in a laser pen incident that took place when Breen was approximately 16. The award was against Syncron Limited of Ballycoolin, Dublin, the company that sold the €10 laser pen on the internet.

It was sold to a classmate of Breen who brought it to St Kevin's College on May 25 2012. Another classmate accidentally aimed the laser's green beam at Breen while a teacher was out of the classroom. Breen immediately felt a "burning sensation." At hospital he was told his retina was burned. Breen has a permanent spot in the center of his right eye, removing about 10 percent of his vision and requiring him to wear glasses.

Breen sued the school, St Kevin's and the laser pen distributor, Syncron.

Justice Michael Hanna found that the school had no responsibility. He said the teacher was entitled to be out of the classroom on necessary business, and if the school was aware of the laser it would have taken action.

Breen's suit said the laser pen was more powerful than allowed by EU directives and thus was dangerous. The judge agreed, noting it should not have been offered for sale, and that Syncron was entirely responsible for Breen's injury. Syncron did not appear in court and did not defend itself.

It is not known if Breen will be able to collect the judgement from Syncron as they are no longer trading.

From Herald.ie and the Irish Times (March 4 2020 article about the lawsuit, March 5 2020 article about the judge's decision and award)

Commentary from LaserPointerSafety.com: This is the first case we are aware of where a civil suit has been brought against a laser pointer distributor or manufacturer for an eye injury. There have been cases where government agencies have taken administrative or criminal action against illegal imports.

France: UPDATED - Kanye West calls out concertgoer for hitting him with a laser

Kanye West interrupted a June 2 2012 concert in Paris to berate an audience member who shined a green laser at the singer.

In a fan video posted to YouTube, West began a song that used theatrical lasers (e.g., part of his show). A few seconds into the song, West abruptly stopped and pointed into the audience. He angrily said “You see this guy right here with the green laser? Don't f**k with everybody's show. This is not a fucking game.” The laser was apparently aimed at West again, who said “You're going to get f**ked up and kicked out, I don't want that sh*t. So chill the f**k out.” During the incident, the crowd booed the concert-disrupting laser.

From ABC News, Huffington Post, and other sources. Another YouTube video taken by a fan is here.

UPDATE June 12 2012: Kanye West similarly berated an audience member who threw a coin on stage during a June 9 concert in Dublin. West stopped in the middle of a song and said “Start again… I ain't trying to make excuses but y'all threw a f*cking coin up here and threw me all the way off. Don't throw that hard sh*t up here while I'm performing. Seriously. You f*cked it up for everybody, I was having a perfect show. Flawless victory. Don't throw no sh*t on the stage." From Ology.com.