Judge dismissed claim after fall in Westport pub

Judge dismisses claim for damages against Westport pub


Judge describes some of claimant’s evidence as ‘disturbing’

A Circuit Court judge has dismissed a claim for damages by a woman who said she suffered ongoing back problems as a result of a fall in a Westport pub.
Cait Fitzgerald, with an address at the time of 14, An Triantan, Bothar an Choiste, Headford Road, Galway, took an action for damages against Maria Ruddy, trading as Madden’s Bar/Clew Bay Hotel, Westport.
Ms Fitzgerald told the court that the incident took place on the night of Saturday, October 27, 2007. She said she slipped on a very wet floor inside Madden’s Bar and sustained back injuries, which are ongoing.
She told the court she was walking down a set of two steps to the bar when she slipped and fell heavily. She said as she was ‘very embarrassed’ by falling in a pub, she stood up as quickly as she could. She and her boyfriend then went to the bar and had a drink, but did not inform any staff of the wet floor, the court heard.
Ms Fitzgerald said she did not have any ‘major’ pain afterwards but the following Wednesday she found it difficult to get out of bed and tie her shoe laces. She went to visit a doctor, was given Difene painkilling tablets and told to resume activity. Twelve days later she said she was in a lot of pain when in Paris with her boyfriend.
She returned to a GP, who referred her to a physiotherapist whom she attended from November 2007 to the following March. After that, she attended a chiropractor, which she said she found much more beneficial. Ms Fitzgerald said she was having difficulty sitting or walking for long periods of time and said the fall had ‘affected my life greatly’.
Ms Fitzgerald added she is a qualified solicitor but is currently a full-time mother of two young children. She said she had resumed sessions with her chiropractor this year, as the injury had ‘flared up’ three times this year.
Defending barrister John O’Donnell said it was ‘remarkable’ that no complaint was made on the night and questioned if Ms Fitzgerald’s clothes were wet after the fall. She said she could not recall.
Mr O’Donnell questioned if Ms Fitzgerald could have had back problems arising from a car accident in 2009. She said she had no injuries from that crash and was relieved that no harm was done to her first child, with whom she was pregnant at the time.
Ms Fitzgerald’s husband, her boyfriend at the time, said the floor in Madden’s on the night was ‘very slippery’.
Maria Ruddy, the proprietor of Madden’s Bar and the Clew Bay Hotel, told the court the first she knew of the incident was when they received a solicitor’s letter six weeks later. She said that she and her husband, Darren Madden, had run the premises for 18 years and they had never had a previous complaint of a slippery floor. Staff, she said, were told to be vigilant regarding spillages.
She also said there was no evidence to confirm that Ms Fitzgerald was on the premises.
Darren Madden told the court there was no CCTV footage of the incident, as their film is on a 28 day loop, and footage of the night in question was deleted by the time they received any notice from Ms Fitzgerald.
In response to questioning from Emer Meenaghan, barrister for Ms Fitzgerald, Mr Madden disputed the claim that they do not have enough safeguards against wet conditions. He pointed out that they have two large mats on the way into the bar. He was asked why was a wet floor sign not put out by staff. Mr Madden replied ‘maybe the floor wasn’t wet’.
Judge McDonagh said it is not possible for a publican to insure against all unforeseen incidents and that what was in place in Madden’s was adequate. He said he took note of the fact Ms Ruddy and Mr Madden had run the business for 18 years without any complaints of a slippery floor.
He said if someone had fallen on a wet floor, you would expect their clothes to get wet, but there was no evidence of this. He said he found it ‘very curious’ that Ms Fitzgerald was at the bar for 30 minutes but never made a complaint.
He pointed out that in her evidence Ms Fitzgerald said she had ‘tripped’ when she previously said she had slipped, which he described as ‘disturbing’. There’s a huge difference between those two terms, he said.
Judge McDonagh said he was ‘not convinced’ the floor was wet or that Ms Fitzgerald slipped or even tripped. He said ‘she went down for whatever reason’. He dismissed the case and awarded costs against Ms Fitzgerald.