Woman who dislocated thumb in pub fall awarded €90,000

A woman who dislocated her thumb after slipping on the floor of a Dublin bar has been awarded €90,000 damages by a High Court judge.

Mr Justice Anthony Barr said Sharon Kelly's fall was captured on CCTV and he was satisfied there was liquid on the parquet flooring at the area where she slipped.

The liquid may have come from the wet floor in the ladies toilet or may have been due to patrons spilling their drinks when coming from the bar, he said.

“This area should have been monitored carefully throughout the evening and corrective action taken when drinks were spilt onto the floor,” he said.

Ms Kelly (44), from Co Offaly, had sued Lackabeg Ltd, trading as The Arc Cafe Bar, Liffey Valley, Fonthill Road, Dublin, as a result of the fall which happened after 1am on May 29th, 2011.

Ms Kelly had been attending a 30th birthday party at the venue.

She was wearing four-inch heels at the time of her fall, the court heard.

She claimed, while crossing a wooden floor area in the Lobby Bar on her way to the toilets, she slipped and fell on liquid on the floor.

Lackabeg Ltd denied there was any water or other liquid on the floor surface and said it had a comprehensive cleaning system in operation on the night in question.

In his judgment, Mr Justice Barr said, while there was a system in place for dealing with spillages, he was not satisfied it was properly implemented on the night in question, which was a very busy night.

It was likely the staff were so busy serving drinks and collecting empty glasses they were not able to take sufficient care to keep the floor dry and clean, he said.

The judge noted a Champions League Final was being shown on a television screen and a two for one drinks promotion was available that night. He was satisfied the bars and the nightclub in the premises were doing a substantial trade that particular Saturday night and while the premises was not “jam-packed”, it was nevertheless very busy.

He accepted the evidence of two other women the toilets in the public bar had been in poor condition that night and complaints were made to bar staff about the condition of the toilets.

Ms Kelly had a moderate amount of drink over more than five hours, he said.

“People cannot be expected to look at the floor when walking across a bar. She was entitled to expect that the floor was dry and it was safe for her to walk across it,” the judge said.

Mr Justice Barr said Ms Kelly was disabled in the weeks and months after the incident and has been left with a diminution in sensation in the tip of the thumb and a reduced pinch grip.