A mother of four yesterday had her compensation award upheld after a local authority was found to be negligent in not properly maintaining a toilet which collapsed beneath her. Ms Mary Sheehan (45), of Ardmore Avenue, Knocknaheeny, Cork, suffered serious injuries to her posterior when the toilet bowl collapsed under her on October 5th, 1995. She spent two days in intensive care and 10 days in hospital and doctors were afraid that a halfinch wound she suffered would become infected.
Ms Sheehan was awarded £21,800 damages in the Circuit Court and yesterday the award was upheld in the High Court after the corporation appealed it. Ms Sheehan had told the court she had to be tended at home by a public health nurse for 10 months after the accident and had to use a commode in her front room.
Ms Sheehan said she had complained to the corporation about the toilet several times in the months preceding her accident but it only did a patch-up job.
The corporation denied it had done a patch-up job on the toilet or that Ms Sheehan had complained about its condition just months before the accident. It said it had carried out a proper repair job over a year earlier - the last time Ms Sheehan had ever complained to them about the toilet.
Ms Justice Laffoy said Ms Sheehan may have been mistaken in her recollection of when the corporation repaired the toilet but she said the local authority was negligent in its maintenance of the toilet. She upheld the £21,800 award to Ms Sheehan.