The Circuit Civil Court has awarded a painter €20,000 injury compensation for cutting his hand on a glass in a bar after a hearing to establish liability.
On 18th September 2011, David O´Keeffe was among a large group of friends who were watching the All Ireland Football Final in the Woolshed Baa & Grill on Parnell Street in Dublin. At the end of the game, David tried to manoeuvre through the packed bar to go to the bathrooms, but he slipped on the wet floor and fell backwards, cutting his left hand on a piece of glass that was on the floor.
David was helped to his feet by a staff member, and taken behind the bar where First Aid was administered. Two days later, due to the ongoing pain in his left hand, David attended the Accident & Emergency Department of St James´ Hospital, where the cut was cleaned properly and stitched.
After seeking legal advice, David made a claim for injury compensation for cutting his hand on glass in a bar against the Woolshed Baa & Grill. In his claim, David alleged that the bar had allowed uncollected glasses to stack up, which had likely fallen over and smashed. He also claimed that spilled drinks remained unattended to and that the bar was liable for his injury due to its negligence.
The owners of the Woolshed Baa & Grill denied that they were liable for David´s injuries, and contested his claim for injury compensation for cutting his hand on glass in a bar. They said that glasses had been collected and any spillages cleaned up, and that David´s injuries were due to his friends unsuccessfully trying to lift him up while he had a glass in his hand.
As the owners of the bar failed to consent to an Injuries Board assessment of the claim, David was issued with an authorisation to pursue injury compensation for cutting his hand on a glass in a bar through the courts. The hearing to establish liability was conducted last week before Judge Jacqueline Linnane at the Circuit Civil Court in Dublin.
At the hearing, Judge Linnane was told that the bar had followed its cleaning procedures on the day in question and that an accident report had been filled out at the time of David´s injury, but that the bar was unable to locate it. Judge Linnane said that she accepted David´s version of events as the bar had been packed “to the point that one would not have been able to see that the floor was wet”.
The judge found in David´s favour and awarded him €20,000 injury compensation for cutting his hand on a glass in a bar.