Payout ordered for victims of birthday bonfire explosion

FIVE years after a birthday bonfire explosion which seriously injured five young people, the property owner has been ordered to pay nearly $360,000.

FIVE years after a birthday bonfire explosion which seriously injured five young people, the man at whose property the disaster occurred has been ordered to pay nearly $360,000 in compensation to three of the victims.

Vito Sebastian Morello was hosting a 20th birthday celebration on his former property at Kyoomba, south east of Stanthorpe, on the evening of Anzac Day 2009 when the horrific incident took place.

Morello, who was aged 19 at the time, had assembled timber for the bonfire and lit it during the afternoon, with other people later adding several 44-gallon drums containing chemical residue.

At around 8pm Morello invited guests at the party to sit by the bonfire, with one of the drums later tipping onto its side and exploding outwards.

Two young men were burned, one of whom later went into a coma with burns to 60% of his body, and three young women - Monique Heeremans, 19, Kyrie Sweeney, 20, and Lisa Cosmo, 21 - were also burned.

The three women launched legal action against Morello in December 2011, after a public liability claim he lodged with his insurance company was rejected.

It is understood at least one of the people who added the drums to the fire was charged over the incident and spent time in custody.

In a judgment handed down in the Brisbane District Court on Thursday, Judge Brad Farr noted that Ms Heeremans' clothes caught fire, resulting in intense pain and "severe" burns to her limbs and other burns to her lower back, which later required extensive skin grafts.

Ms Sweeney received burns to her lower limbs and left hand, while Ms Cosmo was burnt on the back of her neck and ears, on the back of her right arm and on her right hand and lower back.

Both Ms Sweeney and Ms Cosmo also required grafting surgery and all three women have permanent scarring.

Judge Farr said each of the three suffered "significant burn injuries and consequential psychological injuries" as a result of the incident.

Morello did not lodge a notice to defend the women's claim and a default judgment was issued in August 2012, ordering him to pay out.

Since that time the complainants underwent assessments by a plastic surgeon, a psychiatrist and an occupational therapist, with their advice forming the basis of Judge Farr's calculations.

Along with extensive bouts of surgery and permanent scarring, all three young women were found to have suffered severe and ongoing emotional difficulties, personality changes and problems with employment and relationships.

Judge Farr took into account not only their medical expenses but also past and future loss of earnings, awarding a total of $149,178 to Ms Heeremans, $82,692 to Ms Sweeney and $127,756 to Ms Cosmo, with the overall figure of $359,626 which Morella has been ordered to pay.

More in Tuesday's Stanthorpe Border Post.