The High Court found Fisher Property Management Limited 20% responsible for a man’s hand injury in an accident involving a faulty apartment entrance door, while attributing 80% contributory negligence to the plaintiff. The court assessed the damages award after apportionment at €15,604.16.
The negligence claim arose from an accident the plaintiff said happened on 18 January 2011 at Mayeston Square Apartment Complex on St. Margaret’s Road, Finglas. He said he was carrying an empty glass fish tank through a common entrance when the door, whose closing mechanism was faulty, swung back and broke the tank, injuring his right hand.
The plaintiff’s account was supported by a friend who was with him. His partner, who was also present, could not confirm the accident’s precise circumstances but said she accompanied him to Beaumont Hospital. The defence disputed his account, relying on hospital notes that recorded the injury as arising from an argument at home. The doctor who made the notes had no specific memory of the plaintiff and could not say whether the injury was more likely to have happened as the plaintiff described or another way.
The judge found, on balance, that the accident occurred as the plaintiff described. She accepted that the door mechanism was not functioning properly on the day and had been faulty for some time before the accident. Fisher Property Management was responsible for repairing and maintaining the door. The company’s witnesses described its inspection and repair arrangements and said no complaint about the closing mechanism had been received. The court noted that the company could not confirm when the mechanism was repaired, and could not counter evidence that it remained faulty on 24 May 2011.
The plaintiff suffered a deep cut to the back of his right hand, damaging several tendons. He underwent surgery and later required further operations, including a tendon graft. A 2017 medical report recorded permanent scarring and some discomfort and reduced thumb movement, although his hand was assessed as functioning essentially normally.
The judge said the plaintiff knew the door mechanism was broken but chose to carry a glass tank through it. She apportioned responsibility 20% to Fisher Property Management and 80% to the plaintiff. She assessed damages at €65,000 for pain and suffering to date, €10,000 for future pain and suffering, and €3,020.82 in special damages. After apportionment, the award was €15,604.16. The judgment does not state a separate order for costs.