Hill walker `lost sense of balance'

A woman hill walker told a court she lost her sense of balance following an accident in a Dublin hotel

A woman hill walker told a court she lost her sense of balance following an accident in a Dublin hotel. Ms Catherine Deegan (24), a student, of Walnut Rise, Drumcondra, Dublin, told the Circuit Civil Court- she fell down a stairway in the Royal Dublin Hotel three years ago, spraining both her ankles.

Ms Deegan sued Gartan Ltd, trading as the Royal Dublin Hotel, O'Connell Street, for £30,000 damages for alleged negligence.

Her counsel, Mr Mark de Blacam, said it was his client's case the concrete stairway was dimly lit, the steps were uneven, - and the centre of them was slippery.

A duty manager, Ms Margaret Newman, told Mr David Nolan, counsel for the hotel, that the staircase was permanently lit during functions as it was used as an emergency exit.

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Judge Harvey Kenny held Ms Deegan should have known of the existence of a handrail and should have been more careful. He awarded general damages of £14,459, but reduced the decree by 25 per cent on the grounds of her contributory negligence.