The High Court has ordered Cork City Council to pay maintenance fitter Ian McWhinney €62,482.50 in damages after finding that an uncovered drain in the rear yard of Cork City Fire Station caused his fall and wrist injury. The award was reduced by 25% for contributory negligence.
Mr Justice David Barniville delivered judgment on 31 July 2018, following a two-day personal injuries trial in Cork on 9 and 10 July. The court found that the council breached duties under sections 12, 19 and 20 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005. It did not find breaches under the other statutory provisions argued by the plaintiff.
The accident happened on 22 July 2013, when Mr McWhinney attended the Anglesea Street station to repair a fire truck shutter. After parking his van in a truck bay with staff permission, he went to collect tools from its rear compartment. As he backed out, his left foot landed on the sloping side of an uncovered drain running across the yard. He fell and fractured his left wrist.
The judge accepted Mr McWhinney’s account that he had not noticed the drain. He found it was a hazard for occasional visitors working in the yard. The council had not shown that it had taken reasonably practicable steps to protect them. A grate could have covered the drain, the judge found, and there was no engineering or design reason it could not be installed. The court also found that the documents produced did not identify the drain as a hazard or assess the risk it posed, and that the council had not established that it had a relevant risk assessment or safety statement.
The plaintiff accepted that he ought to have paid more attention while stepping backwards out of the van. The judge assessed his contributory negligence at 25%.
Mr McWhinney was admitted to Cork University Hospital for two nights and underwent treatment to reduce and stabilise fractures in his left wrist. He returned to offshore work about six to eight weeks later. Medical evidence before the court described continuing stiffness and weakness, with no further improvement in flexibility or strength expected. The judge assessed general damages at €70,000 and recorded agreed special damages of €13,310, including lost earnings. After the contributory negligence deduction, he made a decree for €62,482.50.