Woman in stiletto heels who fell on pub stairs loses damages claim

A woman who dislocated her ankle when she fell on stairs as she went to the toilet in her local pub has lost her claim for damages in the High Court.

Antoinette Johnston was wearing stiletto heels when she tripped and fell at The Village Inn, Clondalkin.

In his judgment, Mr Justice Kevin Cross said Ms Johnston (28) did not exaggerate her injuries and he accepted her account of how the accident happened.

The pub was not liable because the accident was not foreseeable and there was no breach of duty of care, he ruled.

He has adjourned the question of who will pay the costs of the one day court hearing to next week.

Ms Johnston, a cleaner, of Kilmuhuddrick Road, Clondalkin, Dublin, sued Clondalkin Taverns Ltd, the owners of The Village Inn, Main Street, Clondalkin as a result of the accident on February 7th, 2016.

She had claimed, owing to the alleged dangerous and defective condition of the stairs, she was caused to fall.

The pub denied the claims and pleaded Ms Johnston fell because the heel of her stiletto snapped.

In his ruling, Mr Justice Cross said Ms Johnston was a “most pleasant lady” who had gone to her local pub with friends to watch soccer on the TV.

After 10pm she went to the toilet which, he noted, was down three flights of stairs.

She went down the first flight but, as she stepped onto the third step of the second flight, she was caused to trip and fall when she said her stiletto heel became caught in the nosing of the step.

She was taken to hospital and had to have screws inserted. Her ankle was in a cast for eight weeks and she was also out of work for four months.

Ms Johnston did not exaggerate her injuries but the dispute was about liability, he said.

He accepted as a matter of probability her heel caught on the slightly raised nosing on the step.

The judge said her foot must have been sliding along the step so had come in contact with the nosing.

He accepted Ms Johnston’s account of how the accident happened.

However, while a higher standard of care is to be expected at a licensed premises than a corner shop, they are not insurers, he said. The duty was one of reasonable care and the essential question was whether the presence of raised nosing of 1 to 1.5 millimetres amounted a breach of that duty of care.

He could not accept that was the case.

The highly unusual circumstances of the accident, where Ms Johnston’s foot moved along the step, were not foreseeable, he ruled.