The High Court has dismissed an 84-year-old woman’s personal injury claim arising from a fall on Main Street in Clonaslee, Co Laois.
Mary Cuddy claimed she tripped over the raised rim of a manhole cover while walking to Mass on May 16, 2004. Public improvement works were under way at the time, and part of the footpath near Blooms Restaurant consisted of broken paving, loose stones and gravel.
The central issue was not whether Cuddy fell, which the defendants did not dispute, but where and why she fell.
Cuddy told the court that she had tripped near the manhole cover. Her recollection of the time and circumstances varied, however, and the judge found that she had difficulty accurately recalling several aspects of the incident.
The court instead accepted the evidence of Declan McCann, a local plumbing contractor who had seen Cuddy in a nearby shop shortly before the fall. He said she appeared unsteady on her feet, prompting him to watch her as she walked towards the church.
McCann testified that Cuddy fell forward near a rainwater downpipe between O’Donovan’s house and Blooms Restaurant, almost the full width of the restaurant away from the manhole. He said the ground where she fell was clear and that she had not tripped on builders’ material.
Mr Justice Herbert described McCann as an accurate, careful and truthful witness. He found that Cuddy’s recollection was defective and accepted that she fell between about 9.30am and 10am, rather than later as she initially suggested.
The judge held that Cuddy had not proved, on the balance of probabilities, that the fall was caused by the manhole cover or by any negligence or misfeasance of the defendants. The claim against all three defendants was dismissed.