Woman who claims she slipped on cream sues Dunnes Stores

A woman who claims she slipped on cream on the floor of a Dunnes Stores supermarket has sued for damages in the High Court.

Maureen Curran told the court she fractured her right wrist in the fall five years ago and still has to wear a splint most days.

Ms Curran said she was walking along the dairy aisle at Dunnes Store in Cavan town when her legs went from under her and she slipped on a cream spillage being mopped up by staff.

“My feet went from under me. I landed sideways.” Hugh O Keeffe SC, opening her case on Thursday, said the fall had been captured on CCTV.

Ms Curran “came to grief” and could not have expected the hazard in that area, he said.

The performance of the cleaning operation of the cream spillage was wholly inadequate and only one warning sign was placed on the aisle, he said.

Cream is a fatty substance, the use of water to mop it only managed to spread the cream over the floor and their case was paper towels should have been used, he said.

People were allowed to traverse the area as the cleaning process was going on and it took between12 and 14 minutes after the incident for Dunnes to be satisfied the area was clean, he said.

Ms Curran (64), Tymonville Court, Tallaght, Dublin, has sued Dunnes Stores over the incident on September 3rd, 2013. She has also sued her then employer, Glanbia Plc.

Claims denied

She alleges failure by Dunnes to have an adequate cleaning system in operation to warn her of the danger posed by the spillage.

Against Glanbia, she has alleged failure to take any or any adequate precautions for her safety while she was engaged in her work. The claims are denied.

In evidence, Ms Curran said she was in 2013 a business development manager with Glanbia and travelled around the country checking on the company’s products in supermarkets.

On September 3rd, 2013, while at the Cavan store, she was going to check on a particular product in the dairy aisle when, about four or five feet from a warning sign, she said her feet went from under her.

She got up but it was only when she reached for her phone, she realised her hand did not work as it should.

Cross-examined by Marcus F Daly SC, for Dunnes, Ms Curran agreed the fall happened in a split second.

She agreed she went back to work when the cast on her hand came off eight weeks later and continued to work until she was made redundant by Glanbia about a year later.

The case continues on Friday before Mr Justice Kevin Cross.