Woman who fell in nightclub settles action

A woman who broke her wrist when she allegedly tripped on stairs at Lillie's Bordello in Dublin has settled her High Court action on undisclosed terms.

Rachael Sheridan told the court last week she was leaving the nightclub at about 3am when her heel got caught and she fell to the bottom of a six-step set of stairs.

"I was in immediate pain in my left wrist. I was panicked: it looked disfigured, the bones in my wrist were protruding," she told Mr Justice Michael Hanna.

The beauty account manager said she later had an operation on the wrist, was in a cast for five weeks and was out of work for six weeks as a result of the accident in May 2013.

Ms Sheridan (39) Darley Court, Palatine Square, Arbour Hill, had sued Noyfield Ltd, with offices at Nassau Street Dublin, and trading as Lillie’s Bordello, Grafton Street, as a result of the accident on May 19th, 2013.

She claimed the stairs at the nightclub were fitted with anti-slip nosing which was defective and constituted a dangerous slip and trip hazard.

Snagging

She also alleged failure to ensure the anti-slip nosing was curved and tucked in against the carpet to prevent shoes snagging on the lip.

She claimed she is significantly limited in her everyday tasks and activities as a result of her injuries and her ability to progress in her career had been affected.

Noyfield denied the claims and also pleaded Ms Sheridan was wearing inappropriate footwear. It further pleaded she had consumed sufficient alcohol so as to impair her ability to negotiate stairs.

In evidence, Ms Sheridan said she has a complex regional pain syndrome since the accident. She also told the court she “was well within her faculties” as she left the nightclub.

When the case returned before Mr Justice Hanna today, he was told it had been settled and could be struck out.