A 58-YEAR-OLD woman told a court that she was prevented from removing her trousers in a cafe after scalding her leg with hot water.
Maureen Connelly, of Castlerea, Co Roscommon, said in the Circuit Civil Court in Dublin that she burned her leg after a cup holding very hot water had broken in her hand. She said that on May 22nd, 2009, she had been in Dunnes Stores cafe in Roscommon when the accident happened.
She said she had lifted a cup of hot water from the table to drink it and had been left with the handle in her hand and hot water over her trousers, burning her thigh.
Ms Connelly told the court she had screamed in pain but had been prevented from removing her trousers in the restaurant by a member of the staff. She said the staff member had accompanied her to the bathroom, where burn gel had been applied to her leg.
The court heard Ms Connelly had been approached by the shop manager, who had asked her if she wanted him to call for an ambulance or for a taxi. She had refused both and had driven back home and gone to her family doctor.
Agnes Burns, who works in the cafeteria, told the court the cup had not broken. “It was left intact on the table,” she said.
Ms Burns told the judge she had been the first member of the staff on the scene of the incident. “She told me she had knocked her cup over,” she said.
The court heard that, a week after the incident, Ms Connelly had written a letter to Dunnes without mentioning that the cup had broken.
Judge Linnane, dismissing Ms Connelly’s claim, said she had failed to produce evidence of negligence on the part of the shop.