€50,000 damages after row in nightclub

Three women who were kicked or punched and knocked to a glass-strewn floor when a fight broke out close to them at a Dublin nightclub have been awarded more than €50,000 damages against a hotel and its security company.

Judge Tom O’Donnell said the Red Cow-based Moran Hotel on the Naas Road had underestimated security levels for its Hush Nightclub while PB Security, Kilwarden, Kill, Co Kildare, had abdicated its professional advisory responsibilities to the hotel.

Danielle Boylan (26), a trainee accountant, Rowlagh Avenue, Clondalkin, Dublin, whose knees were lacerated with glass when she was knocked to the floor, was awarded €25,000 on a 50-50 liability basis against the hotel owners, T S Taverns Ltd, and PB.

She told her counsel, Eileen McAuley, she had been left with permanent scarring, particularly to her left knee, and had been advised that plastic surgery would not help reduce the marks.

Glass bottle

Pamela Reid (25), The Hollows, Lucan, Co Dublin, told Barney Quirke she had been struck over the head with a glass bottle.

Ms Reid said lumps of hair had been pulled from her head and she had been left with follicle damage which doctors had advised would never fully recover.

She said she had suffered concussion on the night and had suffered from headaches for a number of months after the assault, which had taken place at Hush Nightclub, formerly Club Diva, on March 2nd, 2008.

Judge O’Donnell, awarding her €17,500 jointly against the defendants, said she had suffered traumatic alopecia following the assault.

The judge awarded €12,000 to beauty therapist Chantelle Peart (29), also of The Hollows, Lucan, who had suffered facial injuries during the row.

Noticeably swollen

Ms Peart told Mr Quirke she had suffered a blow to the right side of her face which had become noticeably swollen following the assault.

For a while she had been unable to open her mouth.

Mr Quirke said Ms Peart had spent €3,500 on her teeth but it remained uncertain what impact the assault had on her dental problem, which had been caused mainly by overcrowding of teeth.

Judge O’Donnell awarded costs in all cases against both defendants, holding them equally liable for damages. The number of security staff required to run the club that night had been underestimated.