A woman who had to negotiate the stairs on her bottom for months because of a broken ankle has been awarded £10,500 damages in a personal injuries action. Judge James Carroll, in Dublin Circuit Civil Court, was told that Ms Elizabeth Thomas, a housewife, suffered from a bad back prior to an accident and was unable to use crutches on her stairs.
Mr John Doherty, counsel for Dublin Corporation, conceded liability for a defective repair to paving stones at O'Carroll Villas flats in Cuffe Street, where Ms Thomas lived. He said vandals had damaged the paving slabs, and tarmacadam used in a repair had degenerated.