A woman who sued after she fell and fractured her wrist when her mother’s wheelchair went out of control on a steep slope at Powerscourt Gardens in Co Wicklow has lost her High Court action for damages.
Mr Justice Anthony Barr said he was satisfied Powerwscourt Estate had not failed in its duty of care because clear instructions were given to the woman by a receptionist and she was also supplied with a clear and easily understood map which showed her a safe route to follow.
Jean Chambers (48), Cedarwood Road, Glasnevin, sued Powerscourt Estates Ltd as a result of the fall on a visit to the gardens on September 13th, 2014.
The judge said it was not appropriate in this case to find liability against the estate.
While a sign at the top of the path which had the slope on it might have prevented the accident, he believed the fact there was a slope on that path was something which should have been “readily observable” to Ms Chambers.
If Ms Chambers, having viewed the pet cemetery at Powerscourt, got confused about her route, all she had to do was take the map out of her pocket and look at it, he said.
Had she done so, she would have seen the blue route which was the disabled route, he added. He dismissed her case and also awarded costs to Powerscourt.
Ms Chambers claimed that while there was a disabled route marked on the map provided, there should have been signs in the gardens and at the turn she took with the wheelchair near the pet cemetery.
Powerscourt Estates Ltd denied any liability and also pleaded Ms Chambers had failed to follow instructions given to her when she was handed a map of the gardens which, the court heard, are visited by about 200,000 people annually.
Ms Chambers told the court during the one-day hearing she tried to stop the wheelchair but it gathered speed and went out of control.
She said she thought somebody ran after the wheelchair but her mother, who was not injured, could not remember “how she was saved”.
The court was told Ms Chambers’ mother, who was using a wheelchair provided at the gardens, has brought a separate legal action in relation to the alleged incident near the pet cemetery.