PROMOTERS OF open-air concerts cannot be expected to bear the same duty of care to patrons as would be expected in theatres and concert halls, a judge has ruled.
The judgment could have serious repercussions for members of the public attending such venues.
Judge Terence O'Sullivan said in the Circuit Civil Court yesterday that people attending open-air venues for live concerts or other recreational or sporting purposes could not expect them to be slip-free.
Dismissing a woman's €38,000 claim for damages for injuries suffered at a White Stripes open-air concert four years ago, Judge O'Sullivan said that while promoters would take steps to alleviate risks, it would be stretching the legal duty of care too far to expect such venues to be slip-free.
Ronan Dolan, for MCD Productions Ltd, Dún Laoghaire, told the court there had been significant rainfall the day before the concert in Marley Park, Rathfarnham, Dublin, in August 2004.
He said that while grass on which Sorria Ahmed (34) had slipped and fallen was wet and muddy, there was little the promoters could have done other than to have covered the whole of Marley Park in slip-resistant matting.
Mr Dolan said muck was part of the allure of such legendary sites of revelry as Glastonbury and Woodstock. While MCD and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council had carried out major drainage and other preparatory work at the concert site, it would be putting the bar too high to expect perfection in such circumstances.
Judge O'Sullivan said Ms Ahmed, Rathmines, Dublin, had slipped on wet and muddy ground as she was about to enter a Portaloo after the concert.
She fell and sustained a significant injury.
He found her honest and trustworthy and had he found in her favour, she would have received close to the €38,000 maximum.
However, she had to establish a breach of a common duty of care towards her by the defendants. "It is clear the concert promoters had hired independent experts to advise them and they had adopted the best possible approach they could in order to ensure the safety of their patrons," he said.
The judge said he was satisfied the promoters and the local authority had made efforts to render the area reasonably safe by undertaking drainage measures for the safety of patrons and for the protection of the park.
He dismissed Ms Ahmed's claim without any order of costs against her.