Damages of €25,000 for Dunnes worker who slipped on gravy

A catering assistant who claimed she has ongoing back pain since she slipped and fell on a gravy spillage two years ago, has been awarded more than €25,000 damages against Dunnes Stores.

Vera Biskupova (54) told the Circuit Civil Court that on January 13th, 2015, she had been cleaning the deli counter at Dunnes Stores, Cornelscourt, Bray Road, Foxrock, Dublin, when she slipped and fell.

Ms Biskupova, who now lives in Killarney, Co Kerry, said she fell heavily on her back and banged her head off the floor.

She told her barrister Paul Gallagher that she managed to get up and noticed that her hair, shoulder and back were wet. She said the large spillage smelled like gravy and she had not seen it on the floor before falling.

The court heard that she finished her shift that day but was unable to get out of bed the next day. She had headaches, pain in her head, neck, shoulders and lower back.

Ms Biskupova said she later attended her GP who prescribed her anti-inflammatory medication. She missed work for several weeks and needed physiotherapy. Mr Gallagher said Ms Biskupova had ongoing intermittent pain in her back. She sued Dunnes Stores for negligence, breach of contract and breach of duty.

Bin bags

Ms Biskupova claimed the gravy had leaked from a bin bag and that the bags were unsuitable or unfit for purpose and were likely to allow gravy to leak onto the floor.

She also claimed that Dunnes Stores failed to have any appropriate system of cleaning and inspection in place to ensure employees were not at risk of slipping.

Dunnes denied all her allegations in a full defence and claimed she had been trained “extensively” in relation to health and safety procedures and had not been vigilant that day.

The company alleged that following her accident Ms Biskupova had not mentioned slipping on gravy. They also claimed she was guilty of contributory negligence.

Circuit Court President Mr Justice Raymond Groarke said he was satisfied the system of training was one of a high standard but he believed Ms Biskupova’s account was correct.

Curious

“It is quite an interesting feature that the accident report documentation filled in after Ms Biskupova’s incident has no question as to how or why it happened. That is rather curious,” Judge Groarke said. “I would expect this question to be in the documentation to make sure that steps are taken so that this type of accident does not occur again.”

Judge Groarke said he could not be blind to the fact that a witness to the accident who was present in court and had not been called by Dunnes Stores to give evidence. He said the person who spilled the gravy must have been aware and decided not to follow the company’s cleaning protocol.

Awarding Ms Biskupova €25,234 damages, the judge said the place of work had been unsafe. He said she could not be expected to be constantly looking at the floor and he therefore could not find any contributory negligence.