Woman who fell when shoe snagged in ‘heel trap’ awarded €40,000

A badminton umpire and accounts technician has been awarded €40,000 over an incident in which she tripped and fell when her shoe got stuck in drain grating.

Sheila Burke said she had to give up her active lifestyle following the incident in the car park at her former workplace, Uniphar PLC, on September 11th, 2013. An engineer said Ms Burke had fallen victim to a “heel trap”.

Ms Burke (59) said she was walking to the office after parking her car when the two-inch left heel of her court shoe caught in a drain grating. Her left foot came out of the shoe and she stumbled forward, twisting her body.

She told her barrister, Michael Block, that she felt embarrassed so she picked up her shoe and went to work. She felt pain in her right knee, ankle and back and later that week needed to attend the A&E at Tallaght Hospital.

Ms Burke, of Earlsfort Road, Lucan, said her ankle was swollen and that she suffered soft-tissue injuries to her right ankle, knee and back. This left her with difficulty bending, squatting, kneeling and climbing stairs, she said, adding that she had to wear a medical boot and missed work for several weeks.

Judge Francis Comerford was told that Ms Burke felt pain in her knee and hips for some time before developing pain in her back. She said her injuries were ongoing and that she has had to stop playing badminton after 30 years.

“I had an active life before; I was outdoors all the time. Now I sit in a chair at home watching TV and feeling miserable. I feel it is so unfair this has happened; it has debilitated my whole life,” Ms Burke told the court.

The court heard that Ms Burke also stopped her umpire activities for a while, which affected her chances of officiating at the 2015 Special Olympics.

Liability denied

Sheila Reidy, counsel for Uniphar, of Kingswood Road, Citywest Business Park, Co Dublin, said the company denied liability and alleged Ms Burke had been the author of her own misfortune.

The company claimed Ms Burke should have used the pedestrian pavement and should have taken better care for her own safety while crossing the grating.

Forensic engineer Pat Culleton, who gave evidence on behalf of Ms Burke, said the grating had slots measuring almost half an inch wide and constituted a “heel trap.” It was human nature to take the short-cut and a grating guard should have been used.

Judge Comerford said Ms Burke had come across as a genuine person who did not want to be in court nor have any of her difficulties. The company had been very efficient in dealing with her accident and had paid her salary while she was out of work.

The judge said the workplace was a modern, state of the art construction which had been built according to proper standards .

“However, it should have been designed in anticipation that people would access the premises while crossing the car park and the grating should have had heel guards,” Judge Comerford said.

He said he did not find the company had been negligent but it was in breach of contract to provide a safe place of work for its employees. He found no contributory negligence on the part of Ms Burke.

“Pedestrians are going to cross the car park and holding them negligent for that would fly in the face of reason,” Judge Comerford said.

Awarding her €40,388 damages, he said that while Ms Burke’s life had been altered dramatically since the accident all of her ongoing complaints could not be related to the accident as she had existing degenerative changes.