The High Court found Dunnes Stores Clonmel negligent over a worker’s back injury after she lifted a heavy box from an over-height stock trolley. Ms Justice Irvine attributed 30% of the liability to the plaintiff, who was also found to have acted unsafely by lifting without first assessing the box’s weight.
The judgment concerns an incident at the store in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, on 13 October 2004. The plaintiff, Louise Barry, was then a part-time sales assistant and six weeks pregnant. The court accepted her account that she reached for a box above her head, realised it was too heavy, and twisted while lowering it to a nearby table after her colleague was unable to help at that moment.
Barry alleged that her employer had failed to provide a safe workplace and system of work. The defendant denied liability, disputed that the trolley was loaded as described and argued that, if it was, her own negligence caused the injury. It relied on safety training that instructed staff to assess loads, avoid overhead lifting and seek assistance.
The judge accepted evidence that several trolleys on the shop floor were stacked to about six feet, and that boxes containing bathmats weighing between 9kg and 10kg were on the upper level. The judgment found that the company’s safety practice had not been followed. It also found that such loading was not uncommon and that day-to-day workplace practices could conflict with the safety training relied on by the employer.
The court nevertheless found Barry had received adequate training and should have assessed the box’s weight or refused to lift it from above her head. The judge said a step ladder would not have made lifting the box safely feasible. She concluded Barry bore 30% of the liability; the judgment does not state a separate percentage for the defendant.
On injury and compensation, the judge accepted that Barry had ongoing back and leg pain after the incident, but found her symptoms at the time of judgment could no longer be attributed to it, given underlying degenerative changes. The court awarded €45,000 for pain and suffering to date and €33,000 for loss of earnings up to 5 June 2007, plus any agreed special damages. It declined to award further loss of earnings after that date and disallowed the treadmill cost. The judgment directed that a 30% deduction be made for contributory negligence.