The High Court found landlord Eamon Clohessy liable after plaster fell from the kitchen ceiling of tenant Concepta (otherwise Connie) Collery’s home at 10 Peter’s Street, Clonmel, on 29 June 2013. Mr Justice Barr awarded her €30,000 for pain and suffering to date, €10,000 for future pain and suffering, and €615 in agreed special damages.
In a judgment delivered on 13 January 2016, the judge found that Ms Collery had complained to Mr Clohessy about cracks in the ceiling. Mr Clohessy accepted that he was responsible for repairs to the premises. The judge said no steps had been taken to make the ceiling safe and found that liability rested with Mr Clohessy for injuries caused by the collapse.
The parties disputed whether Ms Collery was struck by the plaster. She said it hit her head and neck. Mr Clohessy said she told him she could have been injured, but had been putting dinner in the microwave when the plaster fell. The judge accepted that she had said she could have been injured, but found that this was not a clear statement that she had suffered no injury.
The judge noted that Ms Collery did not mention neck pain when she visited her GP on 8 July 2013. The first recorded reference to neck pain was in a note dated 2 August 2013. He found that her symptoms began in the weeks after the collapse and that she suffered a neck injury as a result.
An MRI scan in March 2015 showed discs at C5/6 and C6/7, including one impinging on the spinal cord. A neurosurgeon did not recommend surgery at that stage. The latest medical opinion before the court recommended physiotherapy, home exercises and pain relief, with relief expected over time.
A second section of plaster fell on 8 July 2013 while Ms Collery was in an adjoining room; she was not injured in that incident. The judgment records that repairs were later carried out, but does not specify the date of those works.