Woman seeks damages over ceiling ‘bursting in’ on her

A woman has sued for damages in the High Court claiming she was injured when a ceiling in her council house fell in on top of her.

Janette Lakes claimed she was carrying two cups of tea from the kitchen to the sitting room when the ceiling came "bursting in on top of me".

"It all came in on top of me. My son who was there said a corner of the ceiling must have hit me on the head. My clothes were soaked, the cups were smashed," she told Mr Justice Michael Hanna. "I could not get up from the floor. I was covered in plaster. I was in a puddle of water."

Ms Lakes said she experienced headaches and later had blackouts after the incident.

During cross examination, Thomas P. Hogan SC, for Fingal County Council, put to Ms Lakes that photographs taken by her son after the incident showed the floor was "dry as a bone".

She said it was not dry when the celing came down.

Asked by Mr Hogan where did the water “mysteriously go”, Ms Lakes replied: “I don’t know.”

Asked by counsel who damaged the ceiling, Ms Lakes said it was damaged over years as a result of the council not fixing leaks.

Not wet

When Mr Justice Hanna remarked that, in the photographs, the floor did not not look wet, Ms Lakes replied: “I am not saying it was soaking.”

Ms Lakes (56), of Dromheath Avenue, Blanchardstown, Dublin, has sued the council alleging failure to properly repair the premises.

She alleges there were leaks in an upstairs toilet and that water came through the ceiling which, it is claimed, was insecure and collapsed. It is further claimed that the council allowed the premises to get into an unsafe condition.

The council denies the claims and also pleads contributory negligence on the part of Ms Lakes and an alleged failure on her part to take any or any proper care of the premises.

In evidence, Ms Lakes who has lived in the house since 2004, said she had complained of a damp patch on the ceiling which was under the upstairs toilet and bathroom.

She said she never should have instigated legal proceedings as the council “did nothing for me after that”. She said she had written a letter outlining her concerns over the ceiling and cleared her rent arrears but the ceiling was not fixed.

At one stage of the hearing, she offered to show the judge and parties the condition of her home.

The case continues on Thursday.