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A woman who broke her ankle after slipping and falling in a parking lot at the Co. Kildare offices, where she worked, received € 75,000 in damages from the High Court.
Shirley Farrell, a civil servant, sued her employer, the Minister of Agriculture and Marine, and Apelona HSG Ltd, a company hired as a facilities manager by the Minister, over the accident at the Backweston facility in Celbridge on October 22, 2015..
In a trial this week, Judge Max Barrett held that, on the balance of probabilities, Ms. Farrell was correct in her opinion that she must have slipped on the leaves while on her way to her car around 7 p.m. that night.
When he got off work there were about 10 employees left in the very large building and there were no lights outside and he had to decide whether to go to his car, find a security man or go back to his desk, turn on his computer and send an email. for help, he said.
He was able to make his way to his car, following the exact same route that he had followed for years to where it was parked, he said.
He stumbled when he reached the end of the 120-yard distance and fell because he couldn’t see where he was going, slipping on something or another. Because she had mud on her stockings, she believed that one or more leaves had caused her to slip.
The judge said he considered that to be consistent with the time of year and the mud on her socks.
While the evidence was that the parking lot is in physically pristine condition, her undisputed evidence was that, on the night in question, the outside area and the parking area were completely blacked out when she left work, the judge said.
He rejected the Minister’s arguments that, because there is an indemnity contract between the Minister and Apelona, any responsibility in this matter should be attributed to the company.
It found a breach by the Minister, as Ms Farrell’s employer, of the duty established in Article 15 of the Occupational Safety, Health and Well-being Act 2015 to guarantee, to the extent possible, her place of employment. work and means of access and exit from that, it is safe. It also found negligence on the part of both defendants.
Ms. Farrell, as a result of her fall, suffered a broken ankle. Initially he was treated with a below-knee cast and crutches, followed by a split of the walking boot immobilizer and continued use of crutches.
She claimed that even after her boot was removed, she was unable to resume leisure walking until May 2016, found that long-distance walks were no longer possible, and also was unable to resume dancing due to her fear of falling badly on her ankle.
The judge found that Ms. Farrell had sustained a moderately severe fracture that had resolved but with ongoing pain and suffering and appeared to have suffered a significant loss of comfort in terms of her dancing and long walks.
He considered his injuries to be in the upper end of moderately severe and he deserved damages of € 75,000. You have also proposed awarding costs to Ms. Farrell unless the parties inform you that they want to discuss the issue of costs. Final orders will be placed later.
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